--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Aztec peasants, Babylonian shepherds…" description: "\"“Aztec peasants, Babylonian shepherds, Athenian stonemasons, and Carolingian merchants spoke different languages,2 wore different clothing, and prayed ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/351/william-rosen-42020_average-person_aztec-peasants-babylonian-shepherds-athe_2862922.jpg" --- # Aztec peasants, Babylonian shepherds, Athenian… ![“Aztec peasants, Babylonian shepherds, Athenian stonemasons, and Carolingian merchants spoke different languages,2 wore different clothing, and prayed to different deities, but they all ate the same amount of food, lived the same number of years, traveled no farther—or faster—from their homes, and…” quote by William Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/351/william-rosen-42020_average-person_aztec-peasants-babylonian-shepherds-athe_2862922.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/351/william-rosen-42020_average-person_aztec-peasants-babylonian-shepherds-athe_2862922.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/351/william-rosen-42020_average-person_aztec-peasants-babylonian-shepherds-athe_2862922.jpg) > ““Aztec peasants, Babylonian shepherds, Athenian stonemasons, and Carolingian merchants spoke different languages,2 wore different clothing, and prayed to different deities, but they all ate the same amount of food, lived the same number of years, traveled no farther—or faster—from their homes, and buried just as many of their children. Because while they made a lot more children—worldwide population grew a hundredfold between 5000 BCE and 1600 CE, from 5 to 500 million—they didn’t make much of anything else. The best estimates for human productivity (a necessarily vague number) calculate annual per capita GDP, expressed in constant 1990 U.S. dollars, fluctuating between $400 and $550 for seven thousand years. The worldwide per capita GDP in 800 BCE3—$543—is virtually identical to the number in 1600. The average person of William Shakespeare’s time lived no better than his counterpart in Homer’s.”” [William Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rosen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human productivity has barely changed over millennia despite population growth and cultural differences. **In simple terms:** People’s output per person stayed almost the same for 7,000 years. Key Takeaway Recognize that economic growth is a recent phenomenon. Themes history economics productivity population inequality Mood analytical thoughtful Type historical economic When to use this quote - policy analysis - educational curricula - development economics - comparative history Key Concepts GDP per capita technological stagnation cultural convergence Questions to Reflect On - What factors enabled the recent surge in productivity? - How can we sustain growth without harming the environment? A Different Perspective Modern economies benefit from institutions, not just human effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Average person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/average-person/) [Different languages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-languages/) [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) ## Related quotes > [“The negro population grew by leaps and bounds, until on the eve of the Revolution it amounted to more than half a million. 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(Anthony and Cleopatra - William Shakespeare.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-stuart/there-s-beggary-in-the-love-that-can-be-reckoned-anthony-and/) Sarah Stuart ## More by William Rosen > [“The Greek word for kernel is karys, so the word used to describe creatures without a nucleus is prokaryotic—the name, originally procariotique, was coined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rosen/the-greek-word-for-kernel-is-karys-so-the-word-used-to-describe/) [William Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rosen/) > [“The European rabbit flea is so synchronized with its host that a female flea only gestates when living on a pregnant doe; when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rosen/the-european-rabbit-flea-is-so-synchronized-with-its-host-that-a/) [William Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rosen/) > [“Conservative estimates place the Persian casualties at some two thousand in less than twenty minutes, victims of the unforgiving geometry of the battlefield. 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The best estimates for human productivity (a necessarily vague number) calculate annual per capita GDP, expressed in constant 1990 U.S. dollars, fluctuating between $400 and $550 for seven thousand years. The worldwide per capita GDP in 800 BCE3—$543—is virtually identical to the number in 1600. 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