Measured by access to consumer goods, wealthier parts of Europe did not regain the standard of living enjoyed by ordinary Romans until the 1700s. A typical Roman owned more varied types of dishes than their 17th-century English counterpart, highlighting Roman consumerism's height.

Mircea Eliade contrasts the traditional view of a house as a sacred microcosm of the universe with the modern, functionalist view of a "machine to live in." This shift contributes to a sense of rootlessness, as our most personal spaces become devoid of deeper meaning.

Beyond military power, mass consumption of goods created a shared universe that bound the empire together. This economic activity produced knock-on effects that sustained the tax apparatus, creating a symbiotic relationship between widespread commerce and state power.

Romans possessed practical economic thinking. They planned around seasonal price fluctuations and sought profit, but never developed a discrete, systematized branch of reasoning akin to modern economics, lacking an "Adam Smith" to formalize these concepts into a separate field of study.

Ross Douthat refutes the idea of a leisured aristocracy as a model for a post-work world. He argues they were often busy managing estates, fighting wars, and engaging in a constant struggle to prevent decadence, suggesting that a life of pure, unstructured leisure is inherently unstable and difficult for humans to maintain.

Upstart Italian rulers, lacking noble lineage, adopted Roman art, architecture, and scholarship as propaganda. This created an aura of classical greatness and stability, making them seem like legitimate successors to the Caesars rather than mere tyrants who had seized power through a coup.

The Romans were masters of making existing Greek technologies, like water-powered devices, bigger and more widespread. However, they were not great inventors of new concepts like the spinning wheel, and their scaled-up technology rarely trickled down to benefit small, ordinary farms.

The Roman Empire lacked modern, impersonal banking systems. "Banks" were typically run by a single family, making the distinction between borrowing from a bank versus from family much less clear. This structure explains the persistence of decentralized, relationship-based lending.

The relationship wasn't simple friendship. Johnson received emotional stability and a luxurious refuge that helped his mental health. In return, the Thrales gained enormous social prestige by hosting London's top intellectual, turning their home into a celebrated salon.