The Anthrological Revolution (1/3): An Alternate History Bicentennial

How James Watt’s Vision of Human Efficiency Transformed Civilization

February 1, 2025 – Today, we celebrate the bicentennial of the Anthrological Revolution, a moment that reshaped human civilization by prioritizing efficiency, organization, and labor optimization over mechanization and fossil fuel dependency. It was two centuries ago, in 1825, that James Watt published his groundbreaking treatise, The Principles of Scientific Labor Optimization, a work that would lay the foundation for an entirely new kind of technological civilization.

At the time, many believed that the key to progress lay in the untamed forces of nature—wind, water, and steam. However, in a world without abundant fossil fuels, early industrialists struggled to find a scalable source of power. Instead of attempting to harness energy from coal, Watt turned inward, realizing that the most adaptable and underutilized power source was human labor itself.

What followed was a global transformation that, over the course of two centuries, led to the highly structured, sustainable, and efficient world we live in today.