Yep. It's a limited analogy. Other than Pharaonic Egypt and Confucian China (maybe also Mayans/Aztecs), empires back then didn't have a clear understanding like

Yep. It's a limited analogy. Other than Pharaonic Egypt and Confucian China (maybe also Mayans/Aztecs), empires back then didn't have a clear understanding like we do today about planning for sustainability. And even those two aforementioned ones couldn't do so without technological ossification and internal social repression, which led to their demise. Today we know more about economic cycles, natural disaster preparedness, population planning, pollution, etc., even if our leaders don't always do it.