there needs to be scarsity and demand for an economy to work. and free time is needed for tech advancement. those who had free time did not have scarsity. they

there needs to be scarsity and demand for an economy to work. and free time is needed for tech advancement. those who had free time did not have scarsity. they could get anything they wanted. compare with today we have many people with free time who create a huge demand for stuff.