The international non-profit organisation Social Progress Imperative aims at measuring social progress in three areas: basic human needs, foundations of wellbeing and equal opportunity.

Equal opportunity covers personal rights, tolerance, freedom from discrimination, and access to higher education.

Broadly speaking, social progress implies free health care and education, and the protection of children, the elderly and minorities.

Social progress can be measured exactly by the social position of the fair sex, the ugly ones included.

Solidarity implies support for the members of a given group. Social progress is partly based on the notion of solidarity: in a progressive society, people are supposed to provide help for vulnerable people.

Many international organisations set great store by solidarity. Thus, in 2005 the General Assembly of the United Nations identified solidarity as one of the fundamental and universal values that should underlie relations between peoples in the twenty-first century. In 2014, Ban Ki-moon said: “Only through collective action can we address such far reaching issues as poverty and growing inequality, climate change, chronic poverty and major health challenges, such as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.”

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union contains a chapter titled “Solidarity”. It covers workers’ rights – including fair working conditions and protection against unjustified dismissal – health care, social assistance, environmental protection and consumer protection.