|
1st
Century Palestine |
21st
Century USA |
| Is
an agrarian,
pre-industrial
world. |
Is
an industrial, or
better,
post-industrial world. |
| Great
inventions are the plow,
wheel (but without
ball bearings), and sail.
An abundance of slaves
in the empire creates
little incentive to
invent new
technologies. |
Great
inventions are the
internal combustion
engine, computer, and
advanced financing.
The high cost of labor
and intense
competition create
great incentive to
invent new
technologies. |
| There
are no
stock markets or banks.
Loans are procured
only through private
individuals who charge
whatever interest they
want. |
Businesses
have many options for
raising capital, such
as selling shares and
getting loans, both of
which are tightly
regulated. |
| The
money supply is
controlled by the
emperor--usually
badly, with disastrous
results. Economic
swings can be extreme. |
The
Federal Reserve Bank
carefully controls the
money supply and
heavily influences
interest rates.
Economic swings are
mild. |
| 80-90%
of the population
works in agriculture,
including fishing.
Plants yield about
10-15 times the seed
sown. |
5%
of the population
works in agriculture.
Improved strains and
chemical fertilizer
mean plants yield about 40
times the seed sown. |
| Main
sources of energy
include
wood, animals (oxen,
asses, camels) and
human muscles. |
Main
sources of energy
include
oil, gas, coal, and
nuclear reactors. |
| Only
2-4%
of the population is
literate. |
Only
2-4%
of the population is
NOT literate. |
| The
family is the primary
unit of production and
consumption. |
The
individual is the
primary unit of
production and
consumption. |
| "Factories"
in the Roman world
used less than 50
workers, but most
businesses are
operated by a few
people. |
Industrial
corporations may
employ tens or
hundreds of thousands
of workers. |
| The tax rate for
ordinary people totals
35-40% of
income. The wealthy
pay no taxes at all. |
Graduated
tax rates mean the
wealthy theoretically
pay more than people
with smaller incomes. |
