Key technologies

Key technologies are the technologies that radically increase the efficiency of labor. They achieve this by enabling the manipulation of energy and unlocking new resources or making existing resources more accessible.

Examples of key technologies:

• Steel axe: Enabled large-scale deforestation and agriculture.
• Steam engine: Revolutionized transportation and industry.
• Electricity: Provided a versatile and efficient energy source.
• Internal combustion engine: Powered vehicles and machinery.
• Tractor: Mechanized agriculture, drastically increasing productivity.

Examples of non-key technologies:

• Airplane: Revolutionized travel but depends on key technologies like the internal combustion engine.
• Computer: Enhanced information processing but relies on electricity and other key technologies.
• Information technologies (e.g., internet, printing press): Indirectly increase labor efficiency but are built on key technologies.

The distinction is that non-key technologies, while transformative, are dependent on key technologies. Without the foundational energy and resource manipulation enabled by key technologies, non-key technologies cannot function.