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> Ironic complaint on a Rome thread :). The Romans were primitives. Individually very impressive and for their time the society was incredible. But they didn't
by roenxi 3y ago
> Ironic complaint on a Rome thread :).
The Romans were primitives. Individually very impressive and for their time the society was incredible. But they didn't have access to the level of knowledge we do these days on how to create wealth and live comfortably. If they'd spent less time on pointless wars and more time on cheap energy, they too would have achieved better results.
Turns out, amazingly, that at no point in history was killing people and breaking stuff the path to long, happy, comfortable and prosperous living. I can see why nobody figured it out before the 1800s, but the fact is we're looking back on the works of Adam Smith and modern US politicians should know better. They do know better, in fact. They persist with the waste, death and destruction despite knowing better. And that is likely a factor in the Trump phenomenon. The norms they've been championing have had terrible consequences. China has humiliated the west, an actual we-should-be-red-faced-with-shame humiliation, by thriving peacefully. Why can't the US manage that, hm? At least the Trump rhetoric is consistent with the idea than the current political norms.
- antihipocrat 3y agoIsn't the USA being in the position it's in a counterpoint to your argument that: 'Turns out, amazingly, that at no point in history was killing people and breaking stuff the path to long, happy, comfortable and prosperous living.' Surely it can be argued that the USA choosing to enter WW2 when it did and help secure victory for the allies placed the US government in an incredibly powerful position when reconfiguring the global economy (in its favor). The US dollar is still the world's reserve currency and post war generations have lived incredibly prosperously compared to their peers before the war (perhaps this is now reversing).
- roenxi 3y agoWWII was everyone destroying each other and the US came out on top because it still had an economy afterwards. That is a great example of the only winners being people who were an ocean away on a mostly peaceful continent. The US has spent the last 50 years fighting wars. China has not. China has grown by approximately 1 US economy (a bit less accounting for the fact that their figures are bogus). What was the point of the last 50 years of war? Where is the upside from all the US's killing? Because as far as I can see, most of the upside seems to have been in Asia.
- qwytw 3y ago> Turns out, amazingly, that at no point in history was killing people and breaking stuff the path to long, happy, comfortable and prosperous living Well to be fair for the upper class Romans it was exactly that.