The Greeks had a highly developed concept of economics, but it was simply part of the philosophies of politics and ethics. Economic and political philosophy were essentially distorted and destroyed by the Roman Empire. Concepts like division of labor, mutualy beneficial exchange, methodogolical individualism and subjective value are implicit in many Greek philosophical texts. Even Plato had a more realistic view of the role of economics than many present intellectuals, he simply did not recognize the inherent connection between ideological norms and material development.