The same thing is happening now. Financial pressure is hollowing people out and authority is bleeding credibility faster than it can manufacture propaganda. It’s all part of the same collapse rolling forward whether the current oligarchy admits/knows it or not
The great irony of civilization is that the wealthy can never seem to resist killing the goose that lays their golden eggs. When the Roman Empire faced a choice between mass debt forgiveness and mass foreclosure, it chose foreclosure.
We made the same ominous choice in 2008 by bailing out the banks instead of simply forgiving the bad mortgages they wrote. 10% of all US mortgages went into foreclosure and, just as in Rome, wealth inequality is exploding to dangerous levels. Buckle your seatbelt!
What’s wild is how predictably these systems repeat the same death spiral. Not just because of greed, but because the entire structure depends on extraction to sustain itself. It collapses by design.
That's precisely the conclusion Karl Marx came to. The fact that his books are STILL considered too misguided even to consider is an astounding feat of propaganda, isn't it?
Nicely summarized, Nathan. In our 'democratic' culture, we behave very much like the Roman Senate's narrative that 'kings' are bad. Of course, from the point of view of the creditor and owning classes, any ruler that directed to the people's welfare and canceled debts was 'bad'. We still disdain any ruler that dares to not follow the liberal/neoliberal dictates of the owning class.
Michael Hudson liked to point out that when Joe "I am a Zionist", "Genocide" Biden claims we are in a fight of democracy against autocracy, he really meant a fight against leaders strong enough to resit the financial oligarchy from taking over their countries.
Deception is integral to the modern class war. As Dr. Hudson points out, every parasite masks its presence.
Neoliberal economic policies are systematically redistributing wealth away from the middle class to the oligarchy. Meanwhile, bought-and-paid-for politicians pitch more of the same in a nominal democracy. It's fascinating to watch.
We are in an ideological dogfight for the ages here. That's why Dr. Hudson's work is so important; the oligarchs seem determined to prevent the learning of any lessons from the Fall of Rome.
The early Christian Church called themselves The Poor, hence were Ebionite Jews. They depended upon donations, which is why they tolerated St. Paul, a successful fundraiser. The other religions of the time, following the Roman ethos, became "pay to pray". Thus Christianity became popular among the lower classes. Although the Roman Army severed Christianity's connection to Judaism in 135 CE, Christianity maintained the social gospel because it attracted new members. By the time of Constantine Christianity was one of the most popular religions in the Roman Empire. A century later it was the Roman Empire.
The wealthy class created the Roman Senate to wield power. So, in the Christian Roman Empire, the wealthy became the priesthood and reinterpreted sin to be sex rather than greed. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Chris, I love these comments; you had me reading up on Simon bar Kokhba!
The way in which Christianity conquered Rome, but was also conquered by Rome at the same time, is really interesting. The aristocracy effectively neutered the faith of its economic populism.
In American society, we don't talk about the class war. Most of us don't connect the rise of Christianity to the brutal class war that defined its historical trajectory. If we don't start seeing Roman society for the warning sign that it is, we're doomed to follow it over the falls in our own barrel.
The same thing is happening now. Financial pressure is hollowing people out and authority is bleeding credibility faster than it can manufacture propaganda. It’s all part of the same collapse rolling forward whether the current oligarchy admits/knows it or not
The great irony of civilization is that the wealthy can never seem to resist killing the goose that lays their golden eggs. When the Roman Empire faced a choice between mass debt forgiveness and mass foreclosure, it chose foreclosure.
We made the same ominous choice in 2008 by bailing out the banks instead of simply forgiving the bad mortgages they wrote. 10% of all US mortgages went into foreclosure and, just as in Rome, wealth inequality is exploding to dangerous levels. Buckle your seatbelt!
What’s wild is how predictably these systems repeat the same death spiral. Not just because of greed, but because the entire structure depends on extraction to sustain itself. It collapses by design.
That's precisely the conclusion Karl Marx came to. The fact that his books are STILL considered too misguided even to consider is an astounding feat of propaganda, isn't it?
Thank you for the comments, Tracy!
Nicely summarized, Nathan. In our 'democratic' culture, we behave very much like the Roman Senate's narrative that 'kings' are bad. Of course, from the point of view of the creditor and owning classes, any ruler that directed to the people's welfare and canceled debts was 'bad'. We still disdain any ruler that dares to not follow the liberal/neoliberal dictates of the owning class.
Michael Hudson liked to point out that when Joe "I am a Zionist", "Genocide" Biden claims we are in a fight of democracy against autocracy, he really meant a fight against leaders strong enough to resit the financial oligarchy from taking over their countries.
Thank you, Tedder!
Deception is integral to the modern class war. As Dr. Hudson points out, every parasite masks its presence.
Neoliberal economic policies are systematically redistributing wealth away from the middle class to the oligarchy. Meanwhile, bought-and-paid-for politicians pitch more of the same in a nominal democracy. It's fascinating to watch.
We are in an ideological dogfight for the ages here. That's why Dr. Hudson's work is so important; the oligarchs seem determined to prevent the learning of any lessons from the Fall of Rome.
The early Christian Church called themselves The Poor, hence were Ebionite Jews. They depended upon donations, which is why they tolerated St. Paul, a successful fundraiser. The other religions of the time, following the Roman ethos, became "pay to pray". Thus Christianity became popular among the lower classes. Although the Roman Army severed Christianity's connection to Judaism in 135 CE, Christianity maintained the social gospel because it attracted new members. By the time of Constantine Christianity was one of the most popular religions in the Roman Empire. A century later it was the Roman Empire.
The wealthy class created the Roman Senate to wield power. So, in the Christian Roman Empire, the wealthy became the priesthood and reinterpreted sin to be sex rather than greed. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Chris, I love these comments; you had me reading up on Simon bar Kokhba!
The way in which Christianity conquered Rome, but was also conquered by Rome at the same time, is really interesting. The aristocracy effectively neutered the faith of its economic populism.
In American society, we don't talk about the class war. Most of us don't connect the rise of Christianity to the brutal class war that defined its historical trajectory. If we don't start seeing Roman society for the warning sign that it is, we're doomed to follow it over the falls in our own barrel.