Fall of the Empire - GoFuckYourself.com

Brujah · 09-05-2006, 08:07 AM

Waiting for the barbarians

A once-great empire, Rome fell into catastrophic cultural and economic decline. Morris Berman on chilling parallels with modern America

Quote:

The contemporary American situation could be compared to that of Rome in the Late Empire period, and the factors involved in the process of decline in each case are pretty much the same: a steadily widening gap between rich and poor; declining marginal returns with regard to investment in organisational solutions to socioeconomic problems (in the US, dwindling funds for social security and medicare); rapidly dropping levels of literacy, critical understanding, and general intellectual awareness; and what might be called "spiritual death": apathy, cynicism, political corruption, loss of public spirit, and the repackaging of cultural content (eg "democracy") as slogans and formulas.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/saturday_r...564084,00.html

DaddyHalbucks · 09-05-2006, 09:26 AM

You also have a large welfare population living on the backs of the taxpayers, and you have liberal Democrats who work against the national security for their own partisan political purposes.

With leeches and traitors like that, it does hasten the demise of the civilization.

2477 · 09-05-2006, 09:41 AM

You should read the book Empire of Debt. The author makes similar comparisons. He writes it with a large focus on the economy and the depleting value of the US$

reynold · 09-05-2006, 09:43 PM

That's exactly how the cyclical approach in history views the fate of all powerful societies.

Starting from their struggle for power ----> The great Era ----> The decline -----> The rise of another society.

The Ghost · 09-05-2006, 09:47 PM

There's a famous saying: Today's empires are tomorrows ashes.

Not stating anything negative, just for people to be aware. We are in a good position of having thousands of years history to learn from. Whether or not we do remains to be seen.

Splum · 09-05-2006, 10:05 PM

I do believe the Roman Empire lasted 500+ years, and the Byzantine Empire which came from the Roman Empire lasted 1000+ years. I still think we have quite some time until the American Empire completely falls.

spunkmaster · 09-05-2006, 10:14 PM

The US isn't an Empire so how can it fall as a Empire ?

The Romans threw out all rules of society and the US isn't anywhere near
this point yet.

The Romans used blood and death as entertainment and you can imaging what effect this has on a society after a few hundred years ?

wizhard · 09-05-2006, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splum

I do believe the Roman Empire lasted 500+ years, and the Byzantine Empire which came from the Roman Empire lasted 1000+ years. I still think we have quite some time until the American Empire completely falls.

But what about "The Dark Ages" that engulfed much of Western Europe following the decline of the Roman Empire to around 1500AD ?

And don't forget the Byzantine Empire in effect only grew out the fall of the Rome. History generaly follows a pattern of one Empire rising and falling only to be replaced by another.

wizhard · 09-05-2006, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spunkmaster

The US isn't an Empire so how can it fall as a Empire ?

The Romans threw out all rules of society and the US isn't anywhere near
this point yet.

The Romans used blood and death as entertainment and you can imaging what effect this has on a society after a few hundred years ?

The US may not be an empire in the classic sense but there are many paralels to be drawn.

Rome actualy "invented" many of the democratic rules of society that are still the basis of much of western civilisation. However it's also true to say that towards the end Rome had become so corrupt and decadent that in effect it rotted from the inside out rather than it's demise being caused mainly by external pressures.

09-05-2006, 09:26 AM	#2
DaddyHalbucks A freakin' legend! Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada USA Posts: 18,975	You also have a large welfare population living on the backs of the taxpayers, and you have liberal Democrats who work against the national security for their own partisan political purposes. With leeches and traitors like that, it does hasten the demise of the civilization. __________________ Boner Money

09-05-2006, 09:41 AM	#3
2477 Confirmed User Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Right behind you Posts: 414	You should read the book Empire of Debt. The author makes similar comparisons. He writes it with a large focus on the economy and the depleting value of the US$ __________________ Coooostanza.....icq# 195813751

09-05-2006, 09:47 PM	#5
The Ghost IslandDollars.com Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Icq: 176176 Posts: 12,188	There's a famous saying: Today's empires are tomorrows ashes. Not stating anything negative, just for people to be aware. We are in a good position of having thousands of years history to learn from. Whether or not we do remains to be seen. __________________ ISLAND DOLLARS 1000's of Exclusive TS scenes / Constant Updates Best TS Network your surfers will ever join

09-05-2006, 10:14 PM	#7
spunkmaster Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2,052	The US isn't an Empire so how can it fall as a Empire ? The Romans threw out all rules of society and the US isn't anywhere near this point yet. The Romans used blood and death as entertainment and you can imaging what effect this has on a society after a few hundred years ? __________________

09-05-2006, 09:43 PM	#4
reynold Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Global Traveler Posts: 51,271	That's exactly how the cyclical approach in history views the fate of all powerful societies. Starting from their struggle for power ----> The great Era ----> The decline -----> The rise of another society.

09-05-2006, 10:05 PM	#6
Splum Confirmed User Join Date: May 2003 Location: USA Posts: 6,195	I do believe the Roman Empire lasted 500+ years, and the Byzantine Empire which came from the Roman Empire lasted 1000+ years. I still think we have quite some time until the American Empire completely falls.