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… is from pages 253-254 of the late William Baumol’s 2002 book, The Free-Market Innovation Machine [2]:
In an economy [such as that of ancient Rome] in which commerce and industry were disreputable activities, in which rent-seeking and destructive enterprise were the respectable avenues to wealth, and in which one hears nothing of markets characterized by vigorous competition entailing innovative commodities and production processes, the evidence suggesting substantial technological stagnation does not seem extremely surprising.