Today, I read a passage from Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens that had my attention for a while, and might have yours too:
“The Chinese and Persians did not lack technological inventions such as steam engines (which could be freely copied or bought). They lacked the values, the myths, judicial apparatus, and sociopolitical structures that took centuries to form and mature in the West and which could not be copied and internalised rapidly. France and the United States quickly followed in Britain’s footsteps because the French and Americans already shared the most important British myths and social structures. The Chinese and Persians could not catch up as quickly because they thought and organised their societies differently.”
Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens
At first, it sounds obvious. The Industrial Revolution? Not China. Not Persia. It was Britain.
But the more I sat with it, the more I realized there’s something deeper going on here. It’s not just about who had the coolest gadgets. China and Persia had inventions, ideas, and even early steam engines before Britain ever did. But here’s the thing: having the tech isn’t enough. You need the whole ecosystem, that is, the culture, the law, the way people organize themselves, to actually make those inventions change the world.
And Technology Is Only the Tip of the Iceberg
Harari’s point is really important. You can copy an invention, you can buy it, maybe import it.
A country could get a steam engine tomorrow if it wanted. However, if the culture and the systems aren’t set up to actually use it, nothing significant is going to happen. There will be no revolution. It will just be a fancy machine collecting dust.
But China? They already had blast furnaces, iron, and all sorts of mechanical gadgets way before Europe did. Persia had advanced irrigation, windmills, and trade networks that would make your head spin. But still, they didn’t industrialize the way Britain did.
Why is that?
Because of Values, Myths, and Institutions
Here’s what Britain (and later France and the US) had that made all the difference: their social values were in sync.
- Their beliefs in individual property, entrepreneurial risk-taking, scientific rationalism, and competition.
- Their legal framework like enforceable contracts, property protection, patents, and commercial laws that encouraged innovation rather than punishing failure.
- Sociopolitical structures like the Parliament, banking, credit systems, and educational institutions were already capable of supporting skilled industrial labor.
These things took centuries to grow — through the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, and all the messy rise of new social classes.
But How Could These Societies Catch Up Quickly?
France and the US? They caught up fast because they already had the same basic stories and structures as Britain did. Enlightenment values, legal traditions, a taste for shaking things up — these countries were already set up for big change.
China and Persia, on the other hand, played by different rules. In China, Confucian ideas put social harmony above chasing profit. Persia and Islamic societies leaned into centralized control and had their own ways of handling property and money. So even if they got their hands on the same tech, the way they thought and organized things just didn’t line up for a quick leap forward.
Why This Matters Today
Reading this, I had to admit that technology by itself doesn’t move the needle. You need the right mix of culture, laws, and institutions to turn potential into real progress. This chapter in the book is not just a history lesson. Even today, if a society’s values, rules, and ways of working aren’t lined up, all the new tech in the world won’t get you very far.
You also probably see it now.
Countries with the latest gadgets still struggle if they don’t have the value alignment figured out. Yuval Noah Harari’s point sticks with me: revolutions, whether industrial or digital, are just as much about people and the way we organize ourselves as they are about the inventions themselves.
It’s just a tiny slice of Harari’s book Sapiens, but honestly, it cracked open a whole new way of thinking for me.
Why do some societies leap ahead while others stall out, even when they’ve got the same tools?
It’s not just about the tech. It’s about the stories, the systems, and the people behind it all.
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