Comparing the Roman Republic – increasing violence until power was brutally concentrated – to the American Republic is risky, as 2000 years have passed and – so far – we do not have innocent gladiators dueling amoral beasts, except in the odd courtroom. Still, comparisons are useful.
The Roman Republic – which lasted almost 500 years – was advanced yet primitive. It had real similarities to our American republic, representation of common interests, opportunities for individual advancement, and a civilian-military balance, but it was also entirely different.
Our republic was, of course, created by wise men who – no secret – carefully studied the Greeks and Romans, trying to distill the best lessons – good and bad – from their well-recorded pasts.
Some of these lessons guided how Europeans ruled themselves, especially an early emphasis on limiting the power of a centralized government, seeking to protect the personal and property rights of citizens after the populist Magna Carta in 1215, 63 limits on King John.
Without writing another book, lessons pop up from both Roman and English history, especially from the collapsing Roman Republic. These lessons include a need to be on constant guard – ever vigilant – for those in political leadership who try to concentrate power, allowing abuse of power.
A second lesson from the late Roman era is that political violence is like an infectious disease; once introduced into the body politic, it grows, becomes normalized, can quickly undermine respect for laws that keep society predictable, if not entirely peaceful, and produces fear and more violence.
In the Roman Republic, certain facts became increasingly common, eventually eroding the very idea of a Republic, public trust in the people’s ability to understand common interests, interact civilly, and self-govern. Concentrated power was second-best but seen as necessary, to reestablish public safety and national security.
If that sounds terrifying, that a people could default to wanting one-party rule or a benevolent dictator to settle things and just rule – even with ruthlessness and mass oppression – that is the story of human history.
From Ramses II, Attila the Hun, Rome’s Caligula, Russia’s Ivan the Terrible, the Mongol-Turkic Tumur, and Romania’s Vlad the Impaler, to modern oppressors like Stalin, Mao, Mussolini, Hitler, Castro, and a hundred lesser cabal leaders and dictators, this is what replaces freer times.
So, how does this relate to today? While history never repeats exactly, and errors in a republic can be corrected by the people before the calamity, the Roman example is frighteningly instructive.
What happened toward the end of the Roman Republic is that people stopped listening to each other, did not care to know what those they differed with thought, and reverted to tribalism – political and actual.
The late Romans did not maintain respect for historical Roman practices, political patience, pride in their form of government, respect for democratic institutions (senate, four assemblies, temporary leaders), tolerance for free speech, common religion, upward mobility, advancement by merit, and non-violent conflict resolution.
What did they do? From roughly 133 BC to 44 BC, when Ceasar was assassinated, the republic gradually became less accountable to the people, leaders more corrupt, “legal” and illegal oppression more common, social divisions deeper, citizenship cheaper, and the army weaker.
What else? Interestingly, in an attempt to appease political critics, excuse their military weakness, and quiet border conflicts, the Romans made citizenship easier to acquire. Contrary to their goal – social stability – this actually deepened divisions and caused riots, poor assimilation, and instability.
Historically, from Gibbon’s six-volume history to modern accounts – which try to attribute the Republic’s fall to climate change, begging the question of how that happened without fossil fuels – the consensus is that pride in the Republic and opposition to political violence turned into constant grievances, debt, overspending, and political dysfunction until the Republic collapsed in 27 BC.
Of course, you can see where this is going, and why one worries – even without lions and togas – about where our own Republic may be headed. Is disintegration inevitable? Absolutely not, and it was not for Rome.
Sadly, the late Romans did not pay attention to their own history, to how their practices were at odds with the extraordinary, balanced, thoughtful Republic their ancestors had created, and to the need for self-awareness, self-discipline, self-correction, and stepping up, being equal to their time.
Are we there? Maybe, maybe not. This election cycle will tell us a lot about who America and Americans really are. We will either choose a limited government, separation of powers, respect for our laws, and pride in our past or the opposite, cheap talk, easy hate, corruption, and circuses.
For myself, chits are on red squares. I think Americans are better informed – by history – than late Romans, more aware of what we have, and what we could lose. I think most do not want political violence, assassinations, or persecution; they do not want the Republic to fail. Hope I am right.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC.
RBC, thank you for this article. I have mentioned the relationship and similarities of our country and the Roman Empire from time to time over the years in comments when warranted. Your piece gives the readers directions that need to be considered as to which way this country needs to go. It is time to make a massive course change toward recovery.
Compare and contrast Rome and the US. Robert Charles is right on in his comments. What we haven’t seen YET are the drunken orgies and the glottony. Our politicians may yet surprise us.
Not funny — ha ha, but that I said that America was going the same way as the Roman Empire several months ago. I feel it is really scary the way things are going. I, also, feel bad that I can not really do anything about it. I have only one vote, but feel I need a lot more. God please keep us safe.
Massive debt and reckless spending will lead to our eventual economic downfall.
The triumverate policies on debasement of the currency, getting rid of universal conscription. and crazy extension of the voting franchise is exactly what happened what led to the downfall of Rome and is leading to the end of the US now.
Well, conservatives who pay attention know the other side does not deserve respect and must be neutralized or our once great country will surely follow in the footsteps of all the others who sold their souls for free stuff. And btw, theres no coming back from communism. It destroys people and their cultures by turning citizens into pets owned by the elites. Life becomes a series of waits for food, medicine and shelter handed out ‘free’.
The matter of making comparison between the Roman empire and the United of America makes sense ,in a limited way, — what is more understandable would be something a bit closer to the present ,like the American Revolution .It seems as if there was no average Roman citizen back in that Before Christ time, just as there was no average American citizen prior to the Revolution. There were people who were in favor of Independence, others who were pro British, some didn’t care one way or the other, and some who disregarded loyalty all together and would go along with whoever prevailed. There is no average American citizen now either. It is rare that thinking about an average citizen is justified — one circumstance could be those who have been through something like a severe storm and have experienced loss – loss of home for example. Still it only accurate up to a certain point. Another example would be connected to the communist system that tries to have everyone. think the same — it could be said that some of the most anti communist people anywhere on earth would be living in communist China. The article makes a good point about how the Roman authorities did things that caused riots, deepened divisions, caused instability, and poor assimilation as a result of border related problems then and doing things to make being a Roman citizen easier apparently at he cost of disregarding whatever standards were established then . So that sure enough is true now too. Respect for the individual is a principle that will help to strengthen society. The history of how this Nation defended freedom during world war two still has a great deal of relevance . And it provides the right spirit for what needs to be done at present – in order to continue being the The land of the Free and the home of the brave.
I HOPE that the red chits pan out and Trump wins the election. He has one more month to STOP shooting himself in the foot. I hope Americans are smart enough to see through the debacle that is the current administration. The wild card is just how many people so vehemently hate Trump, or believe all the media BS the past 8 years, and simply refuse to vote for him. I am trying to maintain hope for the America I grew up in.
Thank you for a very informative article. Some of the similarities are stunning & are red flags to USA. My opinion, I do not think that the majority of Americans want a one party system,but might believe in things that are not truth.
Very interesting article. I tend to agree with Mr. Charles, but it’s hard to be entirely secure in that view.
One of our biggest social and political dilemmas is the apparently infantile nature of very many who tend to vote “Democrat”…. who also seem to have expectations of our government that their own brand of citizenship makes unattainable.
They incessantly cry for more benefits without earning them, and hold the successes of wealthier people against them… to a point that goes well beyond vengefulness. They lament the lack of autonomy they once had as teens living at home with their parents, and hold the rest of the country “responsible” for their view of the disparity that they created for themselves.
This misplaced anger could, someday, force the rest of us to pay a terrible price.
I hope you are right about us/US as well, Mr. Charles.
Every #1 country in the history of the world,eventually went into decline.I estimate that the U.S. empire peaked around 1965.At first the decline was minimal and now accelerating.China should become the #1 country if it doesn’t follow what the U.S. has done.The Dollar is the common stock of our Federal govt and with that govt operating in bankruptcy,getting worse everyday,you should protect your finances with real assets.Like gold,commodities,real estate and great company stock.
Funny how Mr. Charles, when mentioning “modern oppressors”, threw in the usual Mussolini, Stalin, Hitler and Mao but failed to include such lovely tyrants such as both Bush Administrations, Clinton, Obama and whoever pulls Brandons strings. But then thats right, Charles was a Stepnfetchit for one of the Bush’s. I get it.