Posted on 06/25/2009 11:16:21 PM PDT by Osnome
Six Most Important Factors that destroyed Roman Civilization:
1)Overtaxation
2)Opression of the Provences by the Central Government
3)Government topheavy with bureaucracy
4)Military power overextended across the world(their world at the time)
5)The Populace diverted by degenerate mass entertainment
6) The Borders poorly defended against increasing foreign migration(in their case, Barbarians)
We let government schools teach our children and they are infected with poison, and we continuously reelect the same politicians. We see it coming and all we want is bread and circuses. I see no way to get these people out of our institutions.
You can either head for the hills and live off the land, or prepare for and engage in revolution; and without effective organization a revolution will be short lived.
I don't know what to do except teach my children well, defend my beliefs, and vote my conscience.
It seems as though all great nations end this way. How does one stop it?
By shedding off the dead weight- by giving up the imperial possessions(and the cost of the garrisons that went with them).
That is what Japan was forced to do after WW2 and consequently became one of the 20th century's greatest economic powers within less than two generations. Does this apply to America, I would say not now it doesn't. But then again what do we shed? Our NATO presence in Europe(plus our garrison in Korea and other countries). Pat Buchanan advocates such!
“There are other factors, I leave it to posters to add their own considerations.”
Here’s one, that applies today also. The central Roman gov’t became too dependent on their colonies for production of materials and supplies. They farmed out their needs or imported from their colonies the material products they wanted, and thus no longer had a manufacturing base of their own, making them vulnerable economically. Just like we have done in the U.S., by losing our manufacturing base and having to import so much from the likes of China and others.
>>Just like we have done in the U.S., by losing our manufacturing base and having to import so much from the likes of China and others.<<
And from Malaysia, Korea, Mexico, and those damned Canadians
Good post
Perhaps we should become "the barbarians."
Arrrgh! Or a pirate!
I’m a pirate! Blather, blather!
“And from Malaysia, Korea, Mexico, and those damned Canadians”
You obviously missed the point I was making.
Corruption did the roman republic in - as well as near constant warfare. It was just a matter of time before a general decided to bring matters under control.
>>We are not an empire ruled by an emperor. Such a comparison was more apt for the British. We are a republic. As such, comparisons to the Roman Republic are more apt. Why did the Roman Republic fall?<<
I am not making a verbatim parallel of America to Rome.
I am making a loose analogy based on similar trends that I have discerned
To entertain your line of thinking, why did their Republic Fall~ many reasons; greed, softness, and addiction to luxury(this includes an addiction to using slaves), the loss of the sense of Public Duty, the increasing ambitions of many Generals/Politicians.
But in the end the form of government that suited a city state could not govern and maintain a multinational empire.
It was inevitable that the Romans gravitated to authoritarian and increasingly despotic government.
That is the Fall of the Roman Republic.
With us it is the rapid growth of Big Government and dependence on Federal support.
We have been evolving into a Washingtonian Empire for the past 90 odd years.
Fall of a Great Republic, Democracy, Empire never happen in a day and are a combination of causes both external and primarily internal.
When a government has so many tentacles spread out over the world, it is only natural for it to try to protect its interests.
I'm not saying Obama is our Julius Caesar, but he may wind up being our first emperor - without clothes.
I disagree very much.
The Roman Empire was not totalitarian, not until the rule of Diocletian.
And the symbol of the Roman Republic was the Fasces.
The Roman Republic was very authoritarian to begin with- very similar to SPARTA.
>>“And from Malaysia, Korea, Mexico, and those damned Canadians”
You obviously missed the point I was making.
<<
Oh, I thought you were talking about the willful loss of America’s manufacturing base to other countries.
The Romans did not create their own industries but relied on their colonies and conquered provinces(to be sure there were some exceptions to that pattern)to provide good and services(slaves).
I was also being a little whimsical :-)
No blood for oil? Yeah, right.
A major factorial difference between the Republic of Rome and the Empire is that while not really a democrcy per se, the Citizens, The Public Sector(Plebians) did have a voice in government matters— thru the Tribunes.
With the Empire established, the Citizens where content to have grand scale matters decided for them, they were guaranteed their leisures and wealth.
Maybe that is the way we’re going now~?
What part? The Imperial cult started with Julius. And the Senate was castrated by the time of Caligula.
I agree that they were authoritarian from the git go, but they (Rome) ruled with an iron fist from the time of Augustus.
Ah, good point. Although, I’m not sure at what point they (the Plebians) lost their voice.
>>And I might add, that Islam may be wholly put down because they have the oil we need.
No blood for oil? Yeah, right.
<<
Yes that dependence on a foreign controlled resource is a weakness to our Democracy.
No, there has been no blood for oil.
At least not in this invasion of Iraq- - everybody thought that Saddam Hussein was hiding dangerous weapons.
As for profit, we would all be better economically if we had not invaded that nasty third-world country at all.
If supply of oil was thee consideration, we would not have invaded Iraq at all for Hussien was perfectly willing to sell his oil to anyone who would buy.
Fuel prices would be lower today if we had never invaded.
7)Dark ages followed.
—as well as constant warfare—..etc..
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Especially when the citizenry decides it is ‘below them’ to represent the pols in the warfare end of it...you end up with mercenaries, who, when the thrill of the outside fight is over, turn on the hand that feeds them and takes it for themselves...that is when the ‘lazy, pampered citizens’ are overrun, unable to stop it as the powers that be have either disarmed them or made ‘them’ apathetic to self preservation, through welfare, government schools, FREE THIS, FREE THAT etc
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