Cheapening labour is the opposite of populism

urban improvemnt+ jobs

Steam engine takes away jobs short term

That's the point

It's a labour saving device

Means less labour

it would very fast create factory jobs

It'd require basically a long reigning Ceasar to have a weird fascination with steam engines and metallurgy

No it wouldn't

And before it did that it'd unemploy thousands

they could replace slav labor jobs but that would not be profitable

Yes

unless the plebs rallied to remove slavery so they could have farming jobd

That'd be put down

The patricians would never tolerate it

And would tell the plebs that the slaves will take the pleb jobs

Also job shortages weren't a massive problem in Rome till near the end

so it would just hasten the collaspe of rome

holy shit

There's no plausible way for Rome to do it unless a time traveller came from the future and became Ceasar

ik exactly what caused Rome to fal

And just pushed industrialisation for 20 years

Heron of Alexandria

the steam engine came into be

if that rich dude put the engine on a wheel

Steam engine was never in wide use during Roman Empire

then something would habe happened

IF

Wait, weren't water and air mills used extensively until the Middle Ages?

Putting a steam engine in a mill would not be that huge of a possibility, contrary to wheels.

Rome would need an easier way to create metal parts before steam could be common

^^ this

^^^

going back to the question, I think Rome would expand until it hit natural borders or some other big empire.
Maybe some other groups would copy the steam engine like China.

Augustus wanted to expand the Empire northwise, civilize the German barbarians, and leave the borders at Rhine and Danube.

But he failed, because that was too much of a task, even for him.

That's a weird question because there was no reason for Rome to use labor-saving devices like the steam engine, because they could just have tons of slaves. And it's not because of the institution of slavery that the steam engine could not be implemented; rather the institution of slavery existed because the technologies needed to use these devices in a productive manner did not exist. The steam engine was reinvented in 1700 AD, but it was not put into use until 100 or 150 or so years after that, at which point technology had advanced sufficiently.

^this
I think there were various societies that invented them but slavery was cheaper.
Due to the funny trinket thing they never came up with idea to build stuff like steam vehicles like steam ships or steam cars.

@everyone Daily Question 🔖
What ultimately lead to the Roman Empire’s downfall?

Ok

So