I recall hearing that already during the classical antiquity the Greeks and later the Roman could have invented steam engines (for reference of their technical skills see the Antikythera mechanism), but the abundance of cheaper slave workers made this economically infeasible.
13 Comments
Eheran@lemmy.world · 45 pts · 2y
Are becoming or have been for decades...?
paysrenttobirds@sh.itjust.works · 20 pts · 2y
Centuries?
pickman_model@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 2y
A few millennia, actually
isles@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y
It's valuable for them to frame it as a recent problem, because then the solution is to just "go back to how it was a few years ago".
To frame it as a foundational problem of modern civilization means more disruption to the power balance.
Sdnimm543@slrpnk.net · 32 pts · 2y
Becoming?
Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2y
Exactly what I was gonna say.
The only difference in recent years is that regulations have been loosened, allowing them to increase their abusive practices.
pickman_model@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 2y
Unlike when?
thfi@discuss.tchncs.de · 8 pts · 2y
I recall hearing that already during the classical antiquity the Greeks and later the Roman could have invented steam engines (for reference of their technical skills see the Antikythera mechanism), but the abundance of cheaper slave workers made this economically infeasible.
e_t_@kbin.pithyphrase.net · 7 pts · 2y
The Atlantic slave trade says what?
chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 2y
paywall
thfi@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 2y
https://archive.is/1rgR8
Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y
https://archive.vn/1rgR8
FeatherConstrictor@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 2y
Paywalled article :|