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Link to original post: [drupal=2942]Why America will eventually fall like Ancient Rome.[/drupal]
Aside from math and science, I love history and I love to read about it. I actually might possibly minor in it (currently a Biology major), but that's just a random possibility.
Rome was one of the most fascinating ancient civilizations out there IMO. One the topics which of course covers the gradual decline and fall of the Roman Empire. When I look at some of the main reasons for Rome falling, I can't help but see some sort of a correlation between the then Rome and America today.
Does it sound crazy enough? Let's look at some of the causes that accelerated Rome's demise -- I'll just look at a couple of them:
Overextension
At its height, Rome surrounded the entire Mediterranean region as well as parts of North Africa, modern day Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom. I think we can all agree that when Rome was at its peak, it was ****ing HUGE.
While America isn't an empire and physically controlling the amount of territory Rome did, we have an extremely notable sphere of influence on the entire world. We have military garrisons and troops stationed on almost every corner of the planet. We have, multiple times, attempted to be the "world police" in intervening in various areas of the world. Don't get me wrong; I'm all for defending ourselves when there are direct reasons for doing so that affects us as a country (i.e. war on terror), but at some point America should understand that the entire world is practically impossible to quote unquote "control". Rome tried it, and they had to divide their empire into two halves to actually maintain everything.
Inflation
After Marcus Aurelius, the Roman economy started showing signs of decline. As the Roman empire was conquering new territory, the amount of gold started to plummet. Nevertheless, the Romans were luxurious people and continued to indulge to their heart's content (sound familiar?). In turn, their gold coins began containing less gold, which made them less valuable. To make up for the loss in value, Roman merchants raised prices on goods. Because of this, many people stopped using coins and began to barter to get their necessities. It got to the point when salaries had to be paid through such mediums of bartering -- such as food and clothes, With fiat currency becoming more and more worthless, taxes were collected as food. Obviously, inflation is also a problem in America today. The value of the dollar continues to tank. When the Federal Reserve prints more money, they do not have enough gold to back it up. For every dollar that is printed, the overall value of the dollar decreases. With no actual gold to back up fiat currency, the dollar might as well just be a worthless piece of paper (if it ever gets to that extreme). Nevertheless, more money is being printed every day, which has caused the United States to fall into a recession. This may not have been the leading cause for the fall of Rome, but definitely had an impact on it.
Financial Spending and Mercenaries
Like the United States, one of the major expenses of Rome was military spending.
The Roman Empire was under constant pressure from maintaining an army to defend the border from barbarian attacks (see Hadrian's Wall). Since vast amounts of money were spent on the army, other services had to be weakened or cut. These services included essential infrastructural elements, such as public housing and maintaining quality roads and aqueducts. Eventually, this led to frustrated Romans who lost the determination to fight for their empire. This forced the government to begin hiring soldiers from foreign countries or the unemployed city mobs. You can already start to see how one event cascades right into the next.
During the Great Roman Civil War in 49 B.C., both Caesar and Pompey recruited from non-Romans and non-citizens. The pay skyrocketed from the norm; no doubt to ensure the loyalty of the people they were recruiting. This particular army was not only undependable, but very expensive as well.
Post-Civil War and into the Roman Empire, there were simply not enough actual Romans to recruit to the ever-so-increasing military might. Either that, or people cared more about the money for fighting over the actual will to defend their country. Foreign people were hired as mercenaries -- they were much more expensive and not as reliable as normal soldiers.
Private military companies such as Blackwater are the de facto modern-day version of this. It hasn't become as extreme as it did when Rome hired foreign mercenaries from its overextended empire, but I can see the future in the military where money becomes the driving force to fight instead of defending one's own country. I wouldn't be surprised if something like this begins to truly surface in the future.
In any case, due to the hiring of mercenaries, the emperors were forced to raise taxes which as a result, created yet more inflation. Again, this same issue can be found in the present America. Billions of dollars are spent every year fighting two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. While the troops are away from home, the borders are susceptible to illegal immigrants and potential terrorist attacks. The United States’ foreign policy is forcing the country to be on the verge of bankruptcy. Because of America's huge committment to investing in its military, we have seen our infrastructure begin to decline -- the bridge collapse in Minneapolis is a prime example.
Despite all the doom and gloom this blog entry might portray, keep in mind that Rome lasted for over 800 years (both the Republic and Empire). That's nearly an entire millenium. America is still here after two centuries. All civilizations and empires rise and fall eventually. Some of the comparisons might be a little crazy, but that more than likely comes from me connecting the dots in all sorts of silly ways. At least, that's just me.
But as they say, history repeats itself. Or... idiots repeat history.
Aside from math and science, I love history and I love to read about it. I actually might possibly minor in it (currently a Biology major), but that's just a random possibility.
Rome was one of the most fascinating ancient civilizations out there IMO. One the topics which of course covers the gradual decline and fall of the Roman Empire. When I look at some of the main reasons for Rome falling, I can't help but see some sort of a correlation between the then Rome and America today.
Does it sound crazy enough? Let's look at some of the causes that accelerated Rome's demise -- I'll just look at a couple of them:
Overextension
At its height, Rome surrounded the entire Mediterranean region as well as parts of North Africa, modern day Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom. I think we can all agree that when Rome was at its peak, it was ****ing HUGE.
While America isn't an empire and physically controlling the amount of territory Rome did, we have an extremely notable sphere of influence on the entire world. We have military garrisons and troops stationed on almost every corner of the planet. We have, multiple times, attempted to be the "world police" in intervening in various areas of the world. Don't get me wrong; I'm all for defending ourselves when there are direct reasons for doing so that affects us as a country (i.e. war on terror), but at some point America should understand that the entire world is practically impossible to quote unquote "control". Rome tried it, and they had to divide their empire into two halves to actually maintain everything.
Inflation
After Marcus Aurelius, the Roman economy started showing signs of decline. As the Roman empire was conquering new territory, the amount of gold started to plummet. Nevertheless, the Romans were luxurious people and continued to indulge to their heart's content (sound familiar?). In turn, their gold coins began containing less gold, which made them less valuable. To make up for the loss in value, Roman merchants raised prices on goods. Because of this, many people stopped using coins and began to barter to get their necessities. It got to the point when salaries had to be paid through such mediums of bartering -- such as food and clothes, With fiat currency becoming more and more worthless, taxes were collected as food. Obviously, inflation is also a problem in America today. The value of the dollar continues to tank. When the Federal Reserve prints more money, they do not have enough gold to back it up. For every dollar that is printed, the overall value of the dollar decreases. With no actual gold to back up fiat currency, the dollar might as well just be a worthless piece of paper (if it ever gets to that extreme). Nevertheless, more money is being printed every day, which has caused the United States to fall into a recession. This may not have been the leading cause for the fall of Rome, but definitely had an impact on it.
Financial Spending and Mercenaries
Like the United States, one of the major expenses of Rome was military spending.
The Roman Empire was under constant pressure from maintaining an army to defend the border from barbarian attacks (see Hadrian's Wall). Since vast amounts of money were spent on the army, other services had to be weakened or cut. These services included essential infrastructural elements, such as public housing and maintaining quality roads and aqueducts. Eventually, this led to frustrated Romans who lost the determination to fight for their empire. This forced the government to begin hiring soldiers from foreign countries or the unemployed city mobs. You can already start to see how one event cascades right into the next.
During the Great Roman Civil War in 49 B.C., both Caesar and Pompey recruited from non-Romans and non-citizens. The pay skyrocketed from the norm; no doubt to ensure the loyalty of the people they were recruiting. This particular army was not only undependable, but very expensive as well.
Post-Civil War and into the Roman Empire, there were simply not enough actual Romans to recruit to the ever-so-increasing military might. Either that, or people cared more about the money for fighting over the actual will to defend their country. Foreign people were hired as mercenaries -- they were much more expensive and not as reliable as normal soldiers.
Private military companies such as Blackwater are the de facto modern-day version of this. It hasn't become as extreme as it did when Rome hired foreign mercenaries from its overextended empire, but I can see the future in the military where money becomes the driving force to fight instead of defending one's own country. I wouldn't be surprised if something like this begins to truly surface in the future.
In any case, due to the hiring of mercenaries, the emperors were forced to raise taxes which as a result, created yet more inflation. Again, this same issue can be found in the present America. Billions of dollars are spent every year fighting two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. While the troops are away from home, the borders are susceptible to illegal immigrants and potential terrorist attacks. The United States’ foreign policy is forcing the country to be on the verge of bankruptcy. Because of America's huge committment to investing in its military, we have seen our infrastructure begin to decline -- the bridge collapse in Minneapolis is a prime example.
Despite all the doom and gloom this blog entry might portray, keep in mind that Rome lasted for over 800 years (both the Republic and Empire). That's nearly an entire millenium. America is still here after two centuries. All civilizations and empires rise and fall eventually. Some of the comparisons might be a little crazy, but that more than likely comes from me connecting the dots in all sorts of silly ways. At least, that's just me.
But as they say, history repeats itself. Or... idiots repeat history.
