Evolution is often wrongly defined as progress within a population over time. The key problem here is the word progress– evolution is a directionless process that is simply change over time. But due to common human infatuation with progression, it’s easy for people to hope that the natural selection process deciding our populations’ future is pushing us forward as well. If we’re going to be moving in any sort of direction, it better be forward. Otherwise, we’ll just be wasting energy.
In The Human Motor, energy is conveyed as a currency. Since it is the means by which work can be done, to maximize work profits energy must be utilized to the fullest. Therefore, there should be no wasted motions and no backward steps. And as Rabinbach continues to portray humans as motors, it is clear that we are a flawed machine. Like all things in our natural world, the human body follows the principles of thermodynamics– for energy to be exerted, it must at some point be imported. You can’t get something from nothing, the same way that the human body can only work on the terms that it is “fueled” by sleep and food. Humans are not perfect, tireless work machines, but strive for efficiency anyway as a strong work ethic is presently a respected and admired trait.
Hard work has not always been as highly valued as it is today, as in the past it has been negatively linked to working out of financial necessity, and idleness was admired due to its link to high-class privilege. Now, it is considered a “disease of will”, as compared to fatigue which is viewed more positively as an indicator of hard work (Rabinbach 23).
Looking into A Connecticut Yankee, this malappraisal of idleness therefore explains why Hank is so taken aback and concerned to see so much laziness within the world of King Arthur’s Court. Unable to explain the lazy people’s lack of motivation to work, Hank can only resort to deeming them insane and potential inhabitants of an asylum, as a product of their “disease of will”. These people do not value the energy they hold, and live in a directionless, progress-less community that Hank could only view with disapproval and with hopes to steer it in a forward direction.
As addressed by the The Chicago World’s Fair documentary, sometimes progress can inadvertently lead to retrogression. Specifically looking at the war technologies displayed so proudly by each nation, it was terrifying to know that the German cannons the guest gawked at would be ones utilized just two decades later to attack most of Europe. The celebration of progress soon turned into a period of fear and war, only highlighting the terrible progressions humans are capable of.
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