What Made Classical Greece Special? Interview with Professor Josiah Ober
Tides of History
00:00
The Economic Success Story of the Greek World
The economic success story of the Greek world lies in the combination of extensive growth, more people, and intensive growth, higher consumption per individual. This success is measured by the multiple of bear subsistence a society lives at; modern societies live at many multiples of bear subsistence, providing a buffer for survival. In contrast, pre-modern societies, like the Greeks, lived at around one and a half times bear subsistence, close to the edge of survival. The Greek world, however, exhibited substantial multiples of three, four, or even five times bear subsistence, indicating a significant economic success compared to other ancient societies.
Transcript
Play full episode
