That’s actually exactly why it took the Romans so long to technologically advance. “The slaves do the job well enough”.
The idea of water powered mills and general aqueducts were mind-blowing to them and took a while to catch on. It seemed utterly unfathomable when everyone relied so much on slaves
Which is similar to my theory of why the industrial revolution took place in the west. High populations in the east meant that labor was always cheaper and more efficient than trying to get compliacted machinery to do the job. It’s why a lot of manufacturing still happens in the east, because machines can’t do everything and the best robot is still a human being with a good jig.
That’s actually exactly why it took the Romans so long to technologically advance. “The slaves do the job well enough”.
The idea of water powered mills and general aqueducts were mind-blowing to them and took a while to catch on. It seemed utterly unfathomable when everyone relied so much on slaves
Which is similar to my theory of why the industrial revolution took place in the west. High populations in the east meant that labor was always cheaper and more efficient than trying to get compliacted machinery to do the job. It’s why a lot of manufacturing still happens in the east, because machines can’t do everything and the best robot is still a human being with a good jig.