On the Joy and Glory of Modern Devices

[sakon76]

I love my crockpot. I love my rice cooker. Between them they make making dinner fairly easy and stress-free. I love the dish washer, which ensures that most of the dishes I don't have to do by hand, and I love the clothing washer and drier, which also make life immeasurably easier. I love the electric iron, and the electric microwave, and the gas stove. I even love the vacuum cleaner. Because combined all of these things mean that in a middle-class household such as ours one person doesn't have to stay at home all the time just to get food on the table, clothing cleaned and presentable, and the house tidy. I'm able to go out and have a job and earn money. Of course, society has accordingly shifted such that it's necessary for both partners to work, but still I end up wondering... would women's lib have been possible in the absence of an industrial revolution? Which is the symptom, and which the cause...?