How close were the Romans to an Industrial Revolution?

How close were the Romans to an Industrial Revolution?

At the very least, how close were they to a steam engine?

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As long as you have slaves, you dont need industry.

>I just read capital and now I know everything

But according to liberals like Jared Diamond the only reason Europeans were able to create technology is because they had food, slaves, and plenty of leisure time to pursue intellectual interests.

I thought Marx said the industrial revolution turned on the usage of slaves?

They had some steam contraptions, however, they did not have the knowledge of its potential nor the metallurgy for the materials used in their building.

They actually achieved steam power, just on a very limited scale and for a short period of time. Under a certain crazy Roman Emperor, the deep-state rounded up high-tier Hellenic philosophers and founded a Platonist colony (following the laws, not republic). At that imperial black-site, philosophers were free to experiment and develop new steam based and other technologies.

The primary source material is fragmentary and therefore not entirely clear, but we know the basic details. It seems they were trying to develop something they called "steam-powered armour" and a type of steam powered rapid deployment vehicle, possibly to assassinate the Emperor and escape capture.

They were pretty far from the situation western Europe found itself in in the late 17th century. Never mind the printing press and steam engines, they didn't even have the horse collar.

Nor spurs

Romans lacked many things medieval Europe had, like the carruca heavy plough, which let non-Mediterranean Europe further develop as their lands became more suitable for agriculture.

Not very close. If anything the Chinese dynasties throughout were very close to Industrial Revolutions, especially since the Sui/Tang dynasties.

They practically should've seen an Industrial Revolution Song dynasty if not for China being divided by politics/mongols. They had everything and were on the verge of Steam powered discovered. They were using wind powered devices, complex ships powered by paddles, hot oven/coal burning stove on their ships to heat up metal balls, etc.

If you dont think Roman technological progress was extremely limited by slavery you are completely wrong.

that's entirely different than what said

He worded it a bit too harshly.
Industry was very important for Rome.

you people would like a world dominated by china? not today's china,but the ones of this post

i haven't studied china history so i don't think i have a opinion

Its not a matter of "want" but rather SHOULD(as in rationally speaking). They were on the very of industrial revolution for centuries only internal strife and collapses of dynasties kept them at bay.

Slaves retard progress. See Rome, Dixie, and Islam.

>If anything the Chinese dynasties throughout were very close to Industrial Revolutions, especially since the Sui/Tang dynasties.

Never.

An industrial revolution requires both a middle class and extreme amounts of capital in the hands of said middle class.

Neither of those dynasties had that,

Song dynasty (960-1279) China, particularly the Southern Song (1127-1279, after they lost half the country and tried to radically reform to survive) was a very impressive culture, it was vastly superior to the autocratic and repressive Ming dynasty that emerged from the Mongol conquest. The Song Emperors actually went the furthest of any Chinese leadership to try to realize the Confucian ideal of leadership that listens to counsel. The Song emperors delegated a lot of real authority to senior ministers, who reached their positions through the civil service rather than through family or wealth. Culturally it was also a period where poetry had become the medium of social exchange in such a fundamental way its hard to imagine. Poetic composition was literally part of the civil service exam.

>China

Hahaha.

Steam Engine 100% Europoid invention

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_steam_power

They were arguably ahead until the 15th century but not close at all. Unless by "close" you mean a pre-galileo level.

ahead of europe but not close to an industrial revolution rather

source

Pfft last time I checked this was Veeky Forums, not some academic journal where brainlets have to be fed citations.

I'll believe you just this once. Might even put it in my paper, cheers.