Nah I want to see the numbers on this. Before technology we lived in feudalism. There’s no more unequal system than that.
There exists the possibility we have technology and feudalism.
It also depends on how you define "technology": was/is the plough "technology"? The bow and arrow? Blacksmithing forge? Anvil? Water wheels? The wheel? The stirrup?
There exists the possibility of many things. The Pope made an appeal to empiricism. In our timeline, industrialisation brought forth a burst in democracy and the downfall of feudalism.
Not everywhere:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrialization_in_the_Sovie...
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward
It should also be noted that the Industrial Revolution occurred in the early 1800s:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution
Democracy was already around by then:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingd...
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution
I think it is more accurate to say the the presence of democracy was part of the environment that allowed industrialization to occur. It was (e.g.) UK acts of Parliament that developed canals and later railroads:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_British_canal_s...
Democracy was around millennia ago. The frequency of democracy increased after industrialisation, in part due to its effects on the middle class. Britain and America’s democracies expanded because of it; Europe’s finally found purchase and, in the post-colonial era, so did other continents.
> the presence of democracy was part of the environment that allowed industrialization to occur
Probably not [1].
[1] https://acoup.blog/2022/08/26/collections-why-no-roman-indus...
That capitalism causes democracy is so high-level that it’s just a propaganda line. People from Marxists to neoliberals could say the same thing (meaning different things when interrogated).
We have no evidence capitalism causes democracy. But every democracy on the planet emerged from a context with private property and the rule of law.
The Athenians and Romans weren’t capitalist. But they were closer to it than Marxism or neoliberalism. (They both had private property, money in elections, trade, finance, et cetera.)
False premise.
> But they were closer to it than Marxism or neoliberalism. (They both had private property, money in elections, trade, finance, et cetera.)
Just false.
Agree. I see parallels to communism: in theory it sounds alright - spread the wealth, everyone works for the collective etc. - but in practise it doesn’t work because people are greedy and leaders inevitably become dictators.
With AI it’s similar in that in theory it could be impartial and level playing fields, but in practise they will be run by companies and governments where the same old human fallibilities persist.
If you can’t trust the leaders then you can’t trust their machines either.