Once, during WWII, an American machinist figured out a way to harden tool steel so that the metal-cutting tool bits on lathes and milling machines didn’t wear out as quickly. Suddenly, factory production increased remarkably, and our supply lines were kept filled.
This sort of thing happened in every single area of American life between the Revolutionary War and today. The results have been staggering. Each generation takes pride in thinking back to what life was like within living memory, and being stunned at the changes.
But, there are societies that prefer the old ways. Many of them are utterly unable to work with the increasingly complicated gizmos and doodads around them. They prefer to destroy modern, technological societies and replace them with what they know.
Slavery.