How did Leslie A. White measure cultural advancement?

Leslie A. White did not measure cultural advancement through the lens of "primitive" versus "civilized" stages, a concept often associated with outdated and biased 19th-century unilinear theories. Instead, White proposed that cultural evolution is driven by technological change and the efficiency with which a society harnesses energy per capita.12

In his view, cultural advancement is a measurable process defined by the ability of a society to capture and utilize energy to transform its environment. White argued that as technology improves—encompassing advancements in tools, food production, and transportation—societies become more efficient at harnessing energy, which in turn allows for greater social complexity and dominance over the environment.132

White’s approach, often categorized under neoevolutionism, was strictly materialistic and rejected the idea that cultural variation resulted from racial differences. By focusing on energy capture, he sought to provide a scientific, non-reductionist framework for understanding long-term cultural evolution as a general, progressive trend in human history.123