Abstract
The notion of progress is best understood as a concept which is contradictory and on-going. Writers such as John Gray are wrong to conclude that every notion of progress has to be mechanical and unilinear. Progress is what I call a 'momentum concept' – an on-going, unstoppable process. In the case of Zimbabwe, the attainment of political independence was a vital step but the struggle for democracy and self-government will continue in a post-Mugabe era.