Comment by Findeton
One of the problems with Rome was that by using slaves, the rich didn’t value work. People are more productive if they are compensated according to their productivity. Also the rich didn’t systematically reinvest their capital in the most productive way as capitalists do nowadays, instead they bought titles/positions, land or married their children.
That's not true! We see the invention and diffusion of labor-saving devices throughout the entire history of the Roman Empire!