"Une erreur courante consiste à supposer que la civilisation progressera toujours de manière productive sans tenir compte du rôle de la nature humaine et de l'imprévisibilité dans l'influence du progrès."

Simplified Meaning:

People often think that society will always get better and improve, but they forget how human behavior and unexpected events can change things. For example, we might believe that technology and science will keep making our lives easier and more comfortable. However, humans can sometimes act in ways that slow down progress, like starting conflicts or ignoring important issues such as climate change. Consider how great civilizations in history, like the Roman Empire, eventually declined despite their advancements. When people in power made poor decisions, or when unexpected disasters occurred, these societies struggled to maintain their growth. This shows that progress isn’t guaranteed; it’s affected by our actions and things we can't predict. To apply this idea in our lives, we should be mindful that things don’t always go as planned. While it’s good to be optimistic about the future, we should also prepare for potential challenges and stay flexible. This helps us to adapt and keep moving forward even when things don’t turn out as expected.