The Roman Empire fell because it had a hollowed-out middle class, and a hollowed-out military. Its founding principles of civic virtue were eroded by the pauperising effect of the public dole. Its wealth-producers were taxed to death, and state spending was completely out of control.
See for instance this excellent resource from the aptly named Cato institute
Big state socialism caused the fall of the Empire. It's no accident that centuries later the Roman fasces - the axe and stick bundle - were adopted as part of the symbology of Mussolini's socialist state.
A great many Roman Citizens were glad to see the Vandals, because it meant they were no longer prisoners of the state!
I am constantly dismayed by the lack of understanding of the root causes of that fall.
H.G. Wells has a great chapter or two on this subject in The Outline of History
Thank you for your post
The Roman Empire fell because it had a hollowed-out middle class, and a hollowed-out military. Its founding principles of civic virtue were eroded by the pauperising effect of the public dole. Its wealth-producers were taxed to death, and state spending was completely out of control.
And all of these years I thought the Romans perished because of lead pipes for plumbing.