Since every human being every born has lived their life on this planet it should not be surprising that people’s around the world have often thought the same things. From gods to tyrants it seems there is a unity in history that crosses the continents and only breaks down when you arrive at isolated tribes with a few dozens of members.
It is interesting but I have never seen this rudimentary ‘number theory’ of the psychology of nations discussed in any depth but I am sure that the reason a tribe in Amazon is the way it is, and the tribe in Rome two thousands years ago was the way it was, has something to do with the numbers. Rome at its height was considered to have about one million inhabitants or thereabouts.
The dynamics of society certainly does change with increasing numbers and I wonder how far these dynamics are drivers for change, custom and power broking. One person feels they have a certain status when amongst ten others which disappears when amongst sixty million others. One’s influence changes when it is impossible to talk to everyone in the group face-to-face.
I wonder we are comfortable having exchanged TV for a handshake, movies for invitations to dinner, and now the Internet for travel.