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Point to Charlie Munger, whom I was critical of a few days ago, how is so much written on how the Roman Republic worked, without talking about the most basic of
by riazrizvi 3y ago
Point to Charlie Munger, whom I was critical of a few days ago, how is so much written on how the Roman Republic worked, without talking about the most basic of incentive structures that drove its citizens to work like no others in the first place - The Law of Twelve Tables? It gave every citizen property rights that were protected by the State. The system was _the_ get rich game for the common man (after Alexander replaced ancient Greece's Solonian Constitution with his Royal authority). Roman soldiers were citizens looking to make money, it was a so called army of merchants. Joining the empire was an attractive proposition because people saw an opportunity to break out of their own opportunity-poor regimes, so the model spread like wildfire, though obviously resisted by hereditary rulers who stood to lose their cozy positions.
- arrosenberg 3y agoAnd look! The problems started when the wealthy Senators started hoarding land in the aftermath of the Punic and Greek conquests. The Gracchi - land reform issues! Marius - land reform issues! Caesar - land reform issues! It's as if history rhymes.
- 1980phipsi 3y agoSlavery certainly had an impact on that as well.
- riazrizvi 3y agoRhymes indeed. Caesar rode a popular wave of resentment to a system that was increasingly gamed by the powerful few, and it ultimately lead to power being captured by an even more concentrated body, the office of an emperor, Augustus, Caesar’s heir. Isn’t this the exact thing we see in the USA where the economically disadvantaged seek solutions from the right whose policies aim to further concentrate wealth and opportunity?
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]