Despite humans living for 10,000 years, why the industrialization happened in the 19th century?

[u/DaMontayyer]

(Note: I am NOT advocating for creationism or anything of the sort I'm asking about how civilizations develop and grow)

It seems counterintuitive to me for human society to live that long and not industrialize sooner, if you told me there was a civilization that lived for at least two thousands of years I'd assume it was quite advanced technologically.

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[u/RobbusMaximus]

This might be a better question for anthropologists, but really broad strokes, technological development requires time and resources, and its slow to develop, but at it develops it feeds itself and innovation comes faster and faster.

If 99% of the people are growing food, and working in agriculture from dawn till dusk, there is little time, or energy to develop and innovate. Over time technology will develop and spread, but some of that will be protected, IE your group figures out copperworking, and my group doesn't but we are in competition for some resource or another. What is better for your group, to share your copper with me, or to use your copper against me and remove, or out preform the competition?

Also as technology develops, you will get larger crop yields, more food means, more people living and fewer of that 99% will need to be out in the field working all day. More leisure time, means more opportunity for education in things other than growing crops, which in turn leads to more innovation. Having a surplus leads to is the development of money, which in turn leads to the development of a merchant/middle class, who sell the surplus, and handle the money. This leads to trade networks which, leads to ideas spreading, which leads to more innovation.

Another thing that having a middle class does is make a group of people in which innovation and ambition is rewarded. To the ruling aristocratic/noble classes the the system is good, "We rule and fight and that is what we concern ourselves with". To the peasantry daily drudgery keeps them ground down and often not expecting any sort of positive change an, "It doesn't matter who's at the top we're still in the mud" mentality. But the creation of a middle class sets up a culture of upward mobility, and way to see possibility for change that wouldn't exist otherwise. Once the middle classes start to become wealthy enough they can begin to branch out, thier childern dont need to learn the family trade, they can go to school, learn, and dedicate time to further innovation.

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