We don't get all that long between discussions of the possibility of an Industrial Revolution within the confines of the Roman Republic/Empire.
Lets set aside the fun - but not exactly practical - ideas about early steam engines kicking-starting such a revolution (even if every single mechanical component of any steam powered machines was known individually during the Hellenistic and Roman eras). The metallurgy is almost certainly far too primitive in that time period.
We'll also set aside early printing presses, early firearms... really, any early Deus Ex Machina invention to industrialize Rome. Of course, in fairness to Rome, we're increasingly discovering that they were pretty good with canals and waterwheels (better than we thought previously), which are, of course, two key physical components of an industrial revolution.
Of course, no discussion of a hypothetical Industrial Revolution would be complete without the requisite mention that it sure seems like all the pieces need to fall in place pretty nearly perfectly for it to take off; one needs only look at the poor Song Dynasty to see how quickly things can go awry.
What I'd like to focus on is the population surplus angle. In Britain, the Agricultural Revolution freed up loads of labor that soon was directed into its increasingly urbanized and increasingly industrialized manufacturing economy. In Rome, similarly, we see the consolidation of the agricultural economy as the vast latifundia displace workers into the growing cities (Rome itself, with its bread and circus-dependent mobs being the most notable example).
At the same time, we also see massive mining projects, on scales comparable to industrial-era mines. We see manufacturing in many cities on a large scale, though not quite an industrial scale. It seems that many of the population dynamics necessary for an Industrial Revolution are there, just a slight be out of place.
So, from a primarily human capital perspective, what would need to change to make it possible for Rome to industrialize? Was it on that path already, and just needed an extra century of economic stability? Are there specific social changes that would be needed? Or scientific progress, theories about organization, physics, and the like? Or, in the end, did Rome just need paper, printing presses, flying shuttles, spinning wheels, or some other invention to complete the puzzle?
Lets set aside the fun - but not exactly practical - ideas about early steam engines kicking-starting such a revolution (even if every single mechanical component of any steam powered machines was known individually during the Hellenistic and Roman eras). The metallurgy is almost certainly far too primitive in that time period.
We'll also set aside early printing presses, early firearms... really, any early Deus Ex Machina invention to industrialize Rome. Of course, in fairness to Rome, we're increasingly discovering that they were pretty good with canals and waterwheels (better than we thought previously), which are, of course, two key physical components of an industrial revolution.
Of course, no discussion of a hypothetical Industrial Revolution would be complete without the requisite mention that it sure seems like all the pieces need to fall in place pretty nearly perfectly for it to take off; one needs only look at the poor Song Dynasty to see how quickly things can go awry.
What I'd like to focus on is the population surplus angle. In Britain, the Agricultural Revolution freed up loads of labor that soon was directed into its increasingly urbanized and increasingly industrialized manufacturing economy. In Rome, similarly, we see the consolidation of the agricultural economy as the vast latifundia displace workers into the growing cities (Rome itself, with its bread and circus-dependent mobs being the most notable example).
At the same time, we also see massive mining projects, on scales comparable to industrial-era mines. We see manufacturing in many cities on a large scale, though not quite an industrial scale. It seems that many of the population dynamics necessary for an Industrial Revolution are there, just a slight be out of place.
So, from a primarily human capital perspective, what would need to change to make it possible for Rome to industrialize? Was it on that path already, and just needed an extra century of economic stability? Are there specific social changes that would be needed? Or scientific progress, theories about organization, physics, and the like? Or, in the end, did Rome just need paper, printing presses, flying shuttles, spinning wheels, or some other invention to complete the puzzle?