James E. McClellan Quote

Historians of technology have asked why no industrial revolution developed in antiquity. The simple answer seems to be that there was no need, that contemporary modes of production and the slave-based economy of the day satisfactorily maintained the status quo. The capitalist idea of profit as a desirable end to pursue was completely foreign to the contemporary mentality. So, too, was the idea that technology on a large scale could or should be harnessed to those ends. An industrial revolution was literally unthinkable in antiquity.

James E. McClellan

Historians of technology have asked why no industrial revolution developed in antiquity. The simple answer seems to be that there was no need, that contemporary modes of production and the slave-based economy of the day satisfactorily maintained the status quo. The capitalist idea of profit as a desirable end to pursue was completely foreign to the contemporary mentality. So, too, was the idea that technology on a large scale could or should be harnessed to those ends. An industrial revolution was literally unthinkable in antiquity.

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About James E. McClellan

James E. McClellan (March 22, 1926 – November 26, 2016) was an American veterinarian and politician.
Born in Frederick, Maryland, McClellan served in the United States Army during World War II. He went to University of Maryland and then received his bachelor's degree in veterinary medicine from University of Georgia in 1955. McClellan practiced veterinarian medicine in Frederick, Maryland. He served on the Frederick city council. From 1978 to 1994, McClellan represented District 3B in the Maryland House of Delegates and was a Democrat. McClellan died in Frederick, Maryland.