Roman economic growth came from institutions rather than from technology, which is why it did not outlive the institutions that produced it.

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• An institution can outlive the state that built it: the Church survived the collapse of Roman political authority when Rome’s other institutions did not. BDBret Devereaux28 Jan 2022
• Handing an ancient society a modern machine would have achieved nothing: the Romans could neither have built a steam engine nor found a profitable use for one. BDBret Devereaux26 Aug 2022
• A heavily centralised state is the most fragile kind: when Rome’s centre failed, its successors were left without the resources or administration to do what it had done. BDBret Devereaux28 Jan 2022
• The Roman Empire was not necessary to keep industry going: metal production in Britain rose after the Romans withdrew. EJEleanor Janega25 Nov 2025
• Urban life in the West did not merely change after Rome, it practically vanished, and had to be built again from scratch centuries later. BDBret Devereaux28 Jan 2022

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