The ordinary American - as far as I can tell - knows so much less than he did fifty years ago and has such poor work habits compared with fifty years ago that the average multiplicand of knowledge/capabilities is a much smaller number than it was in 1961.

Stein is arguing that average competence is not just a matter of how much people know, but how knowledge combines with discipline and practical capability—hence his “multiplicand” metaphor. If either factor declines (less general knowledge or weaker work habits), overall performance drops disproportionately, because multiplication magnifies deficits. By invoking “1961,” he frames the claim as a long-term cultural regression: a comparison between mid‑20th‑century expectations (education, self-reliance, diligence) and what he perceives as contemporary complacency or lowered standards. The quote functions as social criticism, implying that economic and civic outcomes depend on both cognitive capital and work ethic, and that policy or culture should aim to rebuild both rather than focusing on one in isolation.