The Three Revolutions: A Macro-Historical Model of Human Progress

Most reasonable historians talk about various “revolutions” in human history. You’ve probably heard of the Agricultural Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, maybe even the Digital Revolution.

Great!

This is a rant. After this positive prelude about historical revolutions, there needs to come the issue.

The issue is oversimplification. Who gets to say “actually, there have only been three real revolutions in human history”?

Well, I do. Or so can anyone. But will it change how we think about history? Only if it makes sense.

Here’s my take: we’ve really only had three revolutions in human history. I’m talking big, game-changing, “holy cow, everything is different now” kind of revolutions. Here they are:

1. The Technological Revolution

This is the one where we figured out how to make tools and use fire. It started maybe 1-2 million years ago, mostly in Africa. Suddenly, we weren’t just another animal – we were apex predators. We could hunt better, stay warm, and generally mess with our environment in ways no other species could.

By 10,000 BCE, pretty much every human was in on this revolution. During the “stabilization” period after this revolution, we kept evolving. Our brains got bigger, we got better at using our hands, we spread all over the globe. Not too shabby for a bunch of hairless apes.

2. The Agricultural Revolution

Fast forward to about 10,000 BCE. Humans started growing their own food instead of chasing it around. This idea popped up independently all over the world – the Fertile Crescent, China, Mesoamerica, you name it.

The cool thing about this revolution is that we basically created our own food chain. We weren’t completely out of the natural food chain, but we had a lot more control. This led to bigger populations, settled societies, a whole bunch of new problems we’d never had to deal with before.

The time between this revolution and the next one saw some pretty wild developments – empires, writing, math, philosophy. You know, casual human stuff.

3. The Automation Revolution

This is the one we’re in right now. It kicked off around 1600-1700 CE, it’s all about creating technology that does the work for us. We started with steam engines, now we’re talking about AI that might be smarter than us.

Here’s the kicker – this revolution is still going on. Every time we think we’ve got a handle on it, something new comes along and shakes things up. While it started in Europe, now it’s a global free-for-all.

The potential end game of this revolution? Maybe we’ll spread across the galaxy, turning every star into a giant computer running simulations of cat videos. Who knows?

Conclusion

This high-level model presents human history through the lens of three fundamental revolutions: Technological, Agricultural, and Automation. Each of these revolutions represents a significant shift in how humans interact with their environment and acquire resources.

While this model simplifies the complex tapestry of human history, it provides a framework for understanding the most profound changes in human existence. It’s not meant to replace detailed historical study, but rather to offer a perspective on the biggest leaps in human development.

These three revolutions have fundamentally changed what it means to be human. They’ve altered our relationship with our environment, our social structures, and our potential as a species. As we continue through the Automation Revolution, this model may help us contextualize our current rapid changes within the broader sweep of human history.