Is America Declining like Ancient Rome?

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  • Опубліковано 15 тра 2024
  • Setting up an Invideo account is free, and you can publish watermark-free videos for just $20/month: invideo.io/i/toldinstone
    Is America declining? Debatable. Is it declining the way the Roman Empire did? No.
    My new book, "Insane Emperors, Sunken Cities, and Earthquake Machines" is now available! Check it out here: www.amazon.com/Insane-Emperor...
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    Please consider supporting toldinstone on Patreon:
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    Chapters:
    0:00 Introduction
    0:53 Sources of anxiety
    1:34 The Roman analogy
    2:32 Superficial similarities
    3:41 Invideo
    4:50 Are all empires alike?
    5:50 Rome fell because...
    6:47 Parallels and lessons

КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,2 тис.

  • @Marshal_Dunnik
    @Marshal_Dunnik Місяць тому +1789

    Some Americans focus on the Fall of Rome when they really should focus on the fall of the Roman Republic

    • @thax321
      @thax321 Місяць тому +101

      This needs more upvotes.

    • @ryv2484
      @ryv2484 Місяць тому +112

      Someone is about to step up and make the trains run on time 😦

    • @therandomlearningcompany
      @therandomlearningcompany Місяць тому +40

      Absolutely! After the principate seized power of the Tribune of the Plebians, there was no representation for those Plebians, who desperately needed it. Augustus is overrated, and Sulla’s name should be shunned in the history books for taking Plebian power away…

    • @theeccentrictripper3863
      @theeccentrictripper3863 Місяць тому

      @@ryv2484 Keep a weather eye on the horizon, but don't trust anyone with a mustache and a penchant for lederhosen, our Caesar must be the Constitution made flesh or we'll just devolve into proper despotism.

    • @cjk6736
      @cjk6736 Місяць тому +11

      In the entire video, the narrator refers to the Roman Republic as "Rome". What is your point?

  • @whatthefunction9140
    @whatthefunction9140 Місяць тому +818

    We haven't even gotten to our emperor phase yet

    • @zarategabe
      @zarategabe Місяць тому +62

      We need more labor unions and direct democratic participation by citizens to prevent dictatorship and further oligarchy

    • @BFDT-4
      @BFDT-4 Місяць тому +25

      Problem is, when we get to the emperor phase, that's IT for the USA (eh, the constitution has no provision for dictator or emperor.)

    • @william6223
      @william6223 Місяць тому

      ​@@zarategabe
      How about zero connection to the mob, the government, communists, or the democratic party then?
      It would be refreshing if Labor/the People were loyal to one another, rather than power.

    • @1theredrooster
      @1theredrooster Місяць тому

      that orange jackass is desperately tying, although taking the fascistic road instead

    • @nowthenzen
      @nowthenzen Місяць тому

      The Imperial Presidency who takes the nation to war on his will alone. We have semi-elected emperors and have since Nixon.

  • @Corvinuswargaming1444
    @Corvinuswargaming1444 Місяць тому +194

    these superficial comparisons of America to Rome also leave out the scale of time passing for Rome, or later Byzantium. An empire that exists for hundreds of years is bound to have difficult periods that are corrected, or not. Fixation on decline is also based on a reading of history that essentially denies human agency or historical contingency. Rome has a number of “declines” in its history followed by reforms later on, as well as failed attempts at reform. There is no single predetermined arc for any society.

    • @da90sReAlvloc
      @da90sReAlvloc Місяць тому

      Exactly Americans so badly want to be connected to Rome. That they will try to make any connection no matter how small it is and say look were Romans,
      They can't see that they are more like Carthage I've done a video about it

    • @tuxtitan780
      @tuxtitan780 Місяць тому +15

      I also hate how these comparisons very rarely mention the differences between Rome and the US. To compare the two at all, you have to ignore a lot of things, and then tip toe around how you frame, contexualize, and phrase everything. You can easily compare the Gothic invasions to the current US border crisis, and you can also make them seem vastly different and incomparable, for example.

    • @ingold1470
      @ingold1470 Місяць тому +3

      I think the assumption is that modern tech speeds everything up.

    • @kralebdude
      @kralebdude Місяць тому +4

      not used to seeing such a nuanced and thoroughly-reasoned comment on this website. glad i've made it to this side of youtube.

    • @Gigachadsik
      @Gigachadsik Місяць тому

      Replacing yourselves with mass immigration, contraceptives, transgenderism, the replacement of holidays, this country is an economic zone there is no fall there is only a rotting corpse. """America""" was shot in the back of the head in 1963.

  • @hughjass8430
    @hughjass8430 Місяць тому +410

    "It fell because it's officials were corrupt...."
    That's the clearest link between Rome and US.

    • @jeanlannes4396
      @jeanlannes4396 Місяць тому +74

      There is barbarians flooding across the border unchecked, like the Goths allowed to cross the Danube and settle. The inability of the military to recruit enough soldiers. Devaluation of currency is rampant. Increased income inequality. The traditional faith being replaced by something radically different, undermining all institutions. Climate shifts. There is similarity in the fall of the Soviet Union, with entrenched gerontocracy and hyper-reality.

    • @dziban303
      @dziban303 Місяць тому

      @@jeanlannes4396 The barbarians are the toads storming the seat of government because their guy lost

    • @zarategabe
      @zarategabe Місяць тому

      ​@@jeanlannes4396they aren't barbarians coming across the border. They are refugees of wars and military coups that the USA has started and maintains.

    • @grimaffiliations3671
      @grimaffiliations3671 Місяць тому +60

      @@jeanlannes4396 the border is incredibly militarized, our currency is stronger than its been in decades. Inequality is a problem. Pretty sure Christianity is still by far the top religion

    • @rudysmith1552
      @rudysmith1552 Місяць тому +32

      ​@@grimaffiliations3671go up to a random Gen Z person and ask them to quote the Bible

  • @TXMEDRGR
    @TXMEDRGR Місяць тому +206

    I see more parallels between the fall of the British Empire and America's decline. A slow slide to second-rate status rather than a crash.

    • @thimble347
      @thimble347 Місяць тому +22

      I'm inclined to disagree, the British Empire comparison is apt when drawing parallels regarding its geopolitical interaction among competitive states, for example China can be interpreted as the German Empire in that scenario in that it shares the same level of competition but also many of the same weaknesses against the US however I don't see the United States ever ceasing to exist as a global power. There is no colonial empire that the US relies on that can be jeopardized, it remains a global exporter of vital strategic resources and reserves have just been uncovered that will enable the US to offset attempts to curtail its access to rare earth minerals. The US economy has also defied expectations by maintaining a solid growth rate even in the face of inflation caused by government spending. Even if we fast-forward the perceived track of the US and remove NATO from the equation and cast it into a period of isolation that would enable it to degrade enough to be truly peer-to-peer with its strategic rivals the US will still remain a geopolitical power. The USSR faced a cataclysm and today the Russian Federation remains a significant player in global affairs, the same can even be said of China which began the last century as a truly collapsed nation and leveraged it's resources and manpower.

    • @emilianozamora399
      @emilianozamora399 Місяць тому

      The United States is still on top of the world and it isn’t changing any time soon..

    • @TishoYanchev
      @TishoYanchev Місяць тому

      OMG. These brainwashed anglos and their eternal delusions are getting really annoying.. British Empire could not even remotely be compared to America. British Emppire was never a world dominant global superpower like America is today. British Empire was nothing more than an average typical European Empire for its day, not different to France, Germany, even Japan. At no point in its history could British Empire overpower or dominate France or Germany let alone the entirity of Europe like American does and can today.

    • @irenejohnston6802
      @irenejohnston6802 Місяць тому

      The 7th world power of Daniel's prophecy sprang from the "small" horn speaking grandiose things in the 18thc. Became the British Empire. After WWI. US took ascendancy. The last world power, 7th from the Creator's perspective is The Anglo/American WP. 1st was Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. Why? because they had an adverse effect upon the people who are loyal to Him throughout history.Daniel 2:44. Revelation 17:10. 8th 'king' the UN is only a reflection or image put in place by the 7th world power Rev 12:7-9 From a scriptural perspective The Babylonian empire fell in one night. They we're having a party. Using the plundered gold vessels from Jerusalem's destroyed temple. K.Cyrus diverted the canals and marched in. The impregnable walls made no difference. They'd left open the copper doors.

    • @drscopeify
      @drscopeify Місяць тому

      This is totally wrong thinking as Rome and the British Empire ruled over other peoples, nations, cultures, the USA does none of that. The British Empire ruled over billions of other peoples the USA dose not. The British Empire took advantage over resources, people, slaves, companies, all plundering wealth of other nations, cultures, people, the USA does none of that. The USA an a country of trade, we buy what we need, we need OIL we will buy it form the Saudi's this is trade NOT Empire of plunder. The USA dose not go around the world stealing other nations wealth like Rome and the British did. That is foolish to think that. After WW2 we could have made Japan, western Germany, South Korea as US states and really become a proper Empire but did we do that? No. We as always follow our world view of SELF DETERMINATION of all other peoples and lead to the creation of HIGHLY successful nations around the globe. Today it is Japanese companies that own American companies like US Steel just recently sold to a Japanese steel company, The Giant GE Electric company is owned now by a Chinese company and Chrysler the 3rd largest car maker of RAM/Dodge/Jeep is owned by Italian company Stilantis. America is not an Empire so there is nothing to decline here. Also Russia and China are not empires either the world today has NO EMPIRES so comparing it to Rome or British Empire is pointless.

  • @CMVBrielman
    @CMVBrielman Місяць тому +148

    We haven’t even gotten to the “our arch military rival occupies our homeland and we still beat them” stage of Rome’s history yet.

    • @zarategabe
      @zarategabe Місяць тому +25

      The USA has never faced a foreign invasion because of its geography

    • @julianciahaconsulting8663
      @julianciahaconsulting8663 Місяць тому +6

      oh its coming fast but you wont beat China

    • @da90sReAlvloc
      @da90sReAlvloc Місяць тому +25

      Us never faced. So much for you knowing us history
      Remember in 1812 when the British red coats marched in Washington and burned down the white house,

    • @da90sReAlvloc
      @da90sReAlvloc Місяць тому +22

      ​@@zarategabe except in 1812 when us Brits burned down the white house you mean

    • @boarfaceswinejaw4516
      @boarfaceswinejaw4516 Місяць тому +33

      @@julianciahaconsulting8663 china is beating itself. every issue the US has china has a worse version of it.

  • @DieLuftwaffel
    @DieLuftwaffel Місяць тому +137

    Much more fair analysis than I expected, no offense. It's difficult to touch these topics without ticking one side or other off and I think you did pretty well at avoiding drama.

    • @Lifferful333
      @Lifferful333 Місяць тому +12

      Well this is toldinstone you're talking about

    • @_ata_3
      @_ata_3 Місяць тому +4

      What was the analysis? The video just avoids the question

  • @pedenharley6266
    @pedenharley6266 Місяць тому +23

    As a fan of your channel whose command of the electric bass is about as good as my Greek (enthusiastic but quite limited), may I just express my appreciation for the news bar noting the founding of a bass guitar museum.

  • @BradLane5
    @BradLane5 Місяць тому +233

    Over a long enough timeline, the survival rate of everything drops to zero.

  • @lewisgilbertson7506
    @lewisgilbertson7506 Місяць тому +72

    You dont realize how ridiculously advanced the modern age is until you think about how basically everything you do on a day to day basis would be absolutely alien to people living just 200 years ago,
    Took a photo and sent it to someone across the world instantly
    Hopped on my phone and ordered food from a restaurant across town without moving a muscle
    Went on my phone and was able to see news and ongoing conflicts across the entire planet live

    • @darbysdownhomedetecting
      @darbysdownhomedetecting Місяць тому +1

      Well said.

    • @Rynewulf
      @Rynewulf Місяць тому +6

      More like 20, even I remember that stuff being brand new!

    • @T-rexBreath
      @T-rexBreath Місяць тому +11

      This is true for sure. You could argue that the average person from the mid 19th century had a lot more in common with someone from the 14th century than the 21st century.
      We truly are in a completely different world. What's scary, though, is that we have the power to set ourselves back to 19th century standards in an instant.

    • @stefanrusu7106
      @stefanrusu7106 Місяць тому +4

      What I find truly amazing is how accessible information is nowadays, and how little of it we use to better ourselves and our society.
      That photo album sent so easily across the globe often conveys less meaning than a letter from 200 years ago, which took 3 months to get to it's destination.

    • @olorin4317
      @olorin4317 Місяць тому +12

      We’re living in a modern renaissance but people have the audacity to be bored and complain that we don’t live like Jetsons.

  • @KuursKat
    @KuursKat Місяць тому +16

    Love clicking on a ToldInStone video and immediately hearing a harp strum and chisels

    • @JaegerMatthias
      @JaegerMatthias Місяць тому +2

      asmr for history nerds

    • @claytonberg721
      @claytonberg721 Місяць тому

      I need to start following this more closely. Were this a simon whistler channel like Warographics it would have a start, a middle and an end, with everything sort of tired up neatly. This video recognizes the shear scope of the question and informs as best you can in 8 minutes. When you try to dumb something down that probably needs 700+ pages to twenty minutes you lose so much.

  • @SB-qm5wg
    @SB-qm5wg Місяць тому +58

    Well the US isn't new either. When the US started out, the Ottomans were still around along with the Papal States of Italy.

    • @bboi1489
      @bboi1489 Місяць тому +10

      And the HRE. But all that aside, we aren't even 300 years old and are already a superpower, so I'd argue were very young

    • @Earthlybeing396
      @Earthlybeing396 Місяць тому +6

      @@bboi1489the country that created the USA was around for a long time though. The age of a nation isn’t that important. USA is technically one of the oldest countries on earth

    • @TotalDrganMania
      @TotalDrganMania Місяць тому +3

      @@Earthlybeing396 Only if you are talking about a country in terms of the age of its consitution

    • @Tom_Quixote
      @Tom_Quixote Місяць тому +5

      In my city, there's a bar that's older than the USA.

    • @bboi1489
      @bboi1489 Місяць тому +4

      @Earthlybeing396 The USA created itself when it declared sovereignty. With your logic, there's like, 5 different Mongolias running around out there right now.

  • @olorin4317
    @olorin4317 Місяць тому +43

    When some Americans complain about our failings, it actually sounds like they are cheering on America’s fall. I think if we can find a way to amicably rectify that situation, we could still become the country we’ve always aspired to be.

    • @BenjoKazooie64
      @BenjoKazooie64 Місяць тому

      It's amazing how both extremes of the spectrum hold this view. Fascists want America to fall for being too brown and gay for them, communists want America to fall for being too capitalist for them.

    • @beeflumps
      @beeflumps Місяць тому +3

      "See? This is what the [insert party] have done to America."

    • @hollister2320
      @hollister2320 Місяць тому +6

      I luv this take, I don’t doubt most of these are Russian bots so many of us have fell for, but yes, this can all be fixed so easily which is so unique to only our country🙏

    • @antifacho9294
      @antifacho9294 Місяць тому

      If you can t criticize your not even acknowledging the problem

    • @Gobrech
      @Gobrech Місяць тому +2

      ​​​​​@@hollister2320 that's right neo-lib brainlet#221, Putin, the clear progenitor of everything you disagree with

  • @Semper_Iratus
    @Semper_Iratus Місяць тому +28

    Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.

  • @Ofthehunt
    @Ofthehunt Місяць тому +54

    If we had to pick a spot in the Roman timeline the US is on right now, we're somewhere between the 2nd Punic war (winning the cold war) and the Gracchi brothers.
    The late Roman republic was such a dumpster fire though. I'm thankful I live in the US right now, albeit it's far from perfect.

    • @zarategabe
      @zarategabe Місяць тому

      I don't think the USA really won the Cold War and now the US led global system is declining rapidly just 30 years after the fall of the USSR

    • @hulking_presence
      @hulking_presence Місяць тому

      You didn't won the cold war.

    • @hulking_presence
      @hulking_presence Місяць тому +6

      btw USA IS Carthage.

    • @BizzaBoey
      @BizzaBoey Місяць тому

      I think we might be a bit farther along chronologically than the Gracchi brothers to somewhere closer Sulla(even w/o his civil war) or the Cataline conspiracy (degradation of our electoral trust and uprising as a result) of the late. Republic. It's beginning to show some of the flaws of the system that can lead to dictatorial abuses and political violence. However, I don't think this political violence has advanced to something like Clodius at this point.

    • @MatthewTheWanderer
      @MatthewTheWanderer Місяць тому +2

      @@hulking_presence Huh? That makes no sense!

  • @GnomaPhobic
    @GnomaPhobic Місяць тому +19

    The comments here are instructive. People talking about 'phases of history' as though it were a universal linear process. There are no phases, we made phases up. Every society is on its own path, and that path is the path it is currently blazing. The less we try to put life into neat boxes and categories, the less frustrated we will be by life's refusal to conform to our attempts at control.

    • @MatthewTheWanderer
      @MatthewTheWanderer Місяць тому +2

      You are absolutely correct.

    • @jbrown8601
      @jbrown8601 Місяць тому +1

      💯

    • @Badgerlust
      @Badgerlust 14 днів тому

      Yeah that linear line gets cut every time a civilization collapses

  • @megansfo
    @megansfo Місяць тому +95

    I'm a lifelong student of history, and at 74 can say this: I would not go back to former eras, some of which I lived through, no matter how much some people idealize them. Having been born in 1950, I know how it really was in the late 50s to early 60s. Not ideal at all. And anyway, time travel doesn't exist. We can't go back, only forward.
    We are not the Roman Empire. And there are plenty of modern countries that do quite well without being the "greatest" in the world. There is nothing wrong with that.

    • @grimaffiliations3671
      @grimaffiliations3671 Місяць тому

      a lot of people believe the US is going to collapse soon because of the national debt, they don't realize that the national debt is just people's savings

    • @b1crusade384
      @b1crusade384 Місяць тому

      The 1950’s was America at its peak. It was just about the solo nuclear power, had full global control and the world look to it. America has copied Rome so much that its capital would looks somewhat familiar to an Ancient Rome. Classics in America is essentially the study of Rome. America copies Rome attributes like invading and dominating others, feeding its culture globals and other attributes

    • @LennyFrankowiak
      @LennyFrankowiak Місяць тому +4

      Respect.

    • @PLuMUK54
      @PLuMUK54 Місяць тому +11

      ​@Anonymous-yk9yq My parents grew up in the 1930s. They lived in poverty. My maternal grandparents were born in the 19th century. They lived in poverty. Compared to these periods, the 1950s and 60s saw an improvement from poverty to just being relatively poor. Compared to today, there was a lot that was good, but a huge amount was not. I'd also not go back to those times. Today, for all its faults, life for many more people is way better.

    • @jl696
      @jl696 Місяць тому +3

      If I could go back to the early 60s, I would. If I could go back to 80s, my teen years, I would. If could go back to the late 90s or 00s before 911, I would. In every one of those times mentioned, America was more socially cohesive, our people were more vibrant, and America was absolutely stronger and more confident in itself. I do live a good personal life now. I have a wonderful, loving wife. I have an enjoyable job that pays better than I have ever earned before. But no matter, what we tell ourselves today, all I have to do is look around me and to see that our nation is in decline. Maybe, we can "Make America Great Again", to borrow a phrase. We certainly have been through very rough times in the past and we have always been very resilient. I have not given up on America but sometimes I think America has given up on itself. I know, I know, sentimentalist mush, right?

  • @stormgeist1766
    @stormgeist1766 Місяць тому +2

    An excellent topic that has been heavy on my mind as of late... Not just the fall (very loosely speaking) of the ancient Roman civilization, but of many ancient civilizations. Or to put it more bluntly, is our civilization falling? And, what can we learn about that from the past... Excited to hear your thoughts, and I'm glad you made this video. About to watch now

  • @juanfervalencia
    @juanfervalencia Місяць тому

    As always, this was flawless, interesting, entertaining and enlightened.
    I am enjoying Insane Emperors, Sunken Cities, and Earthquake Machines, congratulations for your work.

  • @alhesiad
    @alhesiad Місяць тому +63

    Mom said it was my turn to predict the fall of America.

    • @zarategabe
      @zarategabe Місяць тому +8

      no one is predicting the fall but everyone is talking about the decline of the USA, from left to right, everyone is in agreement that the USA is declining.

    • @markaurelius3119
      @markaurelius3119 Місяць тому +1

      ​@@zarategabewhere there is a decline, there is a 🍂

    • @da90sReAlvloc
      @da90sReAlvloc Місяць тому +1

      ​@@zarategabe what's gonna happen is America is gonna split in to 2 separate countries you watch

    • @madmattdigs9518
      @madmattdigs9518 Місяць тому

      Your mom went to college…

    • @Gigachadsik
      @Gigachadsik Місяць тому

      White women being killed on college campuses for simply walking(By venezuelan illegal)??? Yeah it's falling.

  • @marcusmoonstein242
    @marcusmoonstein242 Місяць тому +9

    Times change, but human nature stays the same. The patterns in human nature that bring down great empires and businesses alike are still there.

  • @danielintheantipodes6741
    @danielintheantipodes6741 Місяць тому

    Thank you for the video!

  • @kristenlevine3446
    @kristenlevine3446 Місяць тому +2

    This was a very thought-provoking vid.

  • @1TakoyakiStore
    @1TakoyakiStore Місяць тому +33

    The quote from Frank Herbert's "God Emperor of Dune" is coming to mind.
    "I'll teach humanity a lesson that they will remember in their bones!" - Leto II
    It's as if the Roman Empire, and more specifically Gaius Julius Caesar and his successor Augustus, branded every European's genetic code with the reverence for ancient Rome. It's not that history is repeating, but rather Ancient Rome was so potent to our collective unconscious. Not unlike the Trojan wars to those same Romans.

  • @gregpappas
    @gregpappas Місяць тому +3

    Great work. Your intellect shines through.

  • @Matteo-jd6mt
    @Matteo-jd6mt Місяць тому +5

    I couldn't read this title and not click, Consider making it a series

  • @jaylewis9876
    @jaylewis9876 Місяць тому +1

    This video covers so many concepts so concisely! I love the comment about how you learn much by traveling. This is an amazing edge for Europeans who have both deep history and easy travel that Americans don’t enjoy

  • @olorin4317
    @olorin4317 Місяць тому +4

    Our global superpower phase is having a rough time, seemingly in the process of willful abandonment.

  • @BlueBeetle1939
    @BlueBeetle1939 Місяць тому +30

    No it is declining in a totally new and different way

    • @EllieMaes-Grandad
      @EllieMaes-Grandad Місяць тому +5

      Forget "the American dream" and concentrate on the harsh reality of current decline . . . ?

    • @MatthewTheWanderer
      @MatthewTheWanderer Місяць тому +1

      No, it is NOT declining, and anyone who believes it is is too stupid to live.

    • @paulred158
      @paulred158 Місяць тому

      America is not a democracy, it amuses me that you Americans think you are yet you passed Citizens United and allowed unlimited anonymous political donations , voter suppression and gerrymandering are rife and only a fraction of your populace actually vote. Hardly a democracy.

  • @PeculiarNotions
    @PeculiarNotions Місяць тому

    Thank you for this thoughtful analysis.

  • @HistoryFirst
    @HistoryFirst Місяць тому +2

    would you consider making a video on ancient Egypt?

  • @joaoluiz2929
    @joaoluiz2929 Місяць тому +8

    The USA are much more related to Carthage than Rome. Carl Schmitt is a good reading for that

    • @zarategabe
      @zarategabe Місяць тому +9

      especially both being founded as mainly commercial enterprises

    • @NikephorosCaesar
      @NikephorosCaesar Місяць тому

      Ironically Russia operates similarly to Rome

    • @SC-gw8np
      @SC-gw8np Місяць тому

      Yep. USA was never Rome.

  • @toadrepublic
    @toadrepublic Місяць тому +44

    Yes. I see decline around me every day.

  • @punx3030
    @punx3030 Місяць тому

    Short but really good comparison and analysis

  • @felixthecat2786
    @felixthecat2786 Місяць тому +2

    It all fell apart when we decided to create the strip mall cul de sac suburbs with R2 zoning. No sense of community and no public spaces. No room to growth, only sprawl. No way to get around without automobiles. Work, school, shops, and goods are too far away to walk to without no proper roadway systems to get us there except for one main artery.
    Roads and and the ability to move and transport goods is pivotal to creating a successful civilization. The highway system in itself was a brilliant concept, but we took away all other alternative roadways and transit options.
    We've all grown isolated and withdrawn from one another because we don't speak to real people anymore. We sit in our giant castles in the middle of nowhere instead of moving around.
    Americans have grown physically weak. We aren't capable of walking two miles. Our obesity is killing us
    Americans have become paranoid and compliant. We exist solely in our echo chambers and perceive the world in our own subjective biases.
    Americans are becoming economically poorer than prior generations due to monopoly of real estate and lack of jobs.
    Our complex capitalist system has become so liberal that we've allowed corporate monopolies to own every single shred of economic consumerism.
    We're heading in the direction of downfall for this reason.

  • @brick6347
    @brick6347 Місяць тому +4

    We have an example of a technologically advanced superpower collapsing in on itself: the USSR. There are far more similarities to be found there than in Rome.

  • @ImagoofybaII
    @ImagoofybaII Місяць тому +27

    Lots of people making endless analogies between the modern world and Rome because it's the only history they know lol

    • @ImagoofybaII
      @ImagoofybaII Місяць тому +5

      Actually "the only history they know of", would be a better way of putting it

    • @schnittmagier5515
      @schnittmagier5515 Місяць тому +3

      I would agree.
      And i really despise the idea of " History repeats itself". In extremely simple terms it might be true since everything has a expiry day. And everything that "goes up must come down". But I am not sure if mongol hordes will ever take over eurasia again. Or Hallstadt Salt exports will rise again to former glory
      Or Venice will dominate the Mediterranean sea again. Because history is way to complex and chaotic to be able to literaly repeat itself.

    • @_ata_3
      @_ata_3 Місяць тому

      All other histories end too 😂

    • @_ata_3
      @_ata_3 Місяць тому

      All other histories end too.

  • @awogbob
    @awogbob Місяць тому +1

    Although most of your videos are succint and focus on one aspect of roman culture I truly feel like this topic should / could have easily led into an hour long lecture.
    Particularly insightful about the dual nature of being a like and different. I found the parallel to travelling to different cultures pretty enlightening

  • @callenclarke371
    @callenclarke371 Місяць тому +1

    Excellent content.

  • @MatthewDoye
    @MatthewDoye Місяць тому +3

    We would do well to remember that all empires are fundamentally unjust.

  • @tuxtitan780
    @tuxtitan780 Місяць тому +3

    I always have had a dislike of these comparisons. Sure, some things are similar, but both situations of both empires are so different, their cultures, values, foundings, everything is different. Technology is different, how politics are conducted is different, how we communicate is different, on and on. The only thing that i can really see being comparable is how, at this point in time, it seems like the US is splitting down partisan lines, and some controversial and power hungry political figures are avoiding criminal prosecution as much as possible, in ways almost identical to that of how Rome split between the Ceasarion and Pompeian factions and Ceaser dodged criminal prosecution. Except, this time around, neither politician is exactly popular or great military leaders capable of fighting a civil war.

  • @forced-into-Google-Handle
    @forced-into-Google-Handle Місяць тому

    Another great lesson from Garrett Ryan. I often enjoy the paintings shown in the videos. Am guessing they're often from Europe's Romantic Period or the Neoclassical. They are beautiful and intriguing. Wish there were a way to KNOW their titles and painters so to do a little research....but still enjoyable this way. Thanks & as always "In Vino Veritas !"

  • @cougar2013
    @cougar2013 Місяць тому +1

    Really great take. Thank you very much!

  • @hexateron
    @hexateron Місяць тому +60

    I thought this was a Whatifalthist video for a moment

    • @dutchplanderlinde8883
      @dutchplanderlinde8883 Місяць тому +10

      Because it makes sense. I get it.

    • @kennethsmith5309
      @kennethsmith5309 Місяць тому +7

      Dude is a sophist

    • @matthewe3813
      @matthewe3813 Місяць тому +4

      Yes, I was too, but I'm happy either way

    • @Jay-gf8tm
      @Jay-gf8tm Місяць тому +6

      Great channel

    • @Hadesthief
      @Hadesthief Місяць тому +28

      ​@@dutchplanderlinde8883 Whatifalthist is the antithesis of sense.

  • @drewbrew444
    @drewbrew444 Місяць тому +3

    What is the name of the painting at 5:21 ?? I'm obsessed

    • @bernhardholl95
      @bernhardholl95 11 днів тому +1

      A View through Three Arches of the Third Storey of the Colosseum. C.W. Eckersberg

    • @drewbrew444
      @drewbrew444 11 днів тому

      @@bernhardholl95 THANK YOU

  • @leeborocz-johnson1649
    @leeborocz-johnson1649 Місяць тому +1

    I commented this on another video, but I just want to say it again here, RIP to the great historian of ideas, John Pocock, whose 6-volume study of Edward Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" is a scholarly epic almost on par with Gibbon's masterpiece itself.
    It is as important to have a good historical sense of thinking about Rome as it is to think about Rome. Thinking about thinking about Rome. Truly an onion with innumerable layers.

  • @sergeykoshelev4566
    @sergeykoshelev4566 Місяць тому +1

    Thank You, Garrett. Being kind of out of working order (for a limited time, I hope) I have become addicted to Your channel. As for US fall... My thought that it's not possible, unless your country will take too much of unqualified work force aboard. That alone does not include growing possibility of nuclear war (which is sad and scary same time, as people at power going dumb and greedy every day), as no one in his sober mind would try to wage conventional war against US across the ocean.

  • @ingold1470
    @ingold1470 Місяць тому +3

    When reading Tacitus' annals, one wonders how Rome managed to survive its first imperial century, let alone the next 4-15. So at least the gloomy outlook of its own political writers is something Rome and America have in common.

  • @patstokes7040
    @patstokes7040 Місяць тому +22

    Your sponsor is just the kind if product no one should use. It is just the kind of technology the brainless and the non creative person uses. That's horrifying that it can clone your voice. I can just see all the same clips being used over and over and over. The opening line is "human creativity" that is the last thing thing this is and yet they want you to think you're the creature. Someone has to speck up against the brainless, mentally homogenized society we are moving towards. Love your channel but this technology will eliminate it.

  • @Allright890
    @Allright890 Місяць тому +1

    Thank you, happy weekend day

  • @kidmohair8151
    @kidmohair8151 Місяць тому +2

    Q: what do empires do best?
    A: fall.
    in my opinion the similarities of the US with Rome are stronger than the differences.

  • @lcbryant78
    @lcbryant78 Місяць тому +9

    What about Carthage?

    • @da90sReAlvloc
      @da90sReAlvloc Місяць тому +2

      American is like Carthage

    • @NikephorosCaesar
      @NikephorosCaesar Місяць тому +1

      America has more similarities to Carthage than to Rome and ironically Russia operates much more similarly to Rome

    • @seanduncan9722
      @seanduncan9722 Місяць тому +1

      Carthage was a tiny port. America is basically an entire continent LMAO wtf ​@@NikephorosCaesar

  • @garlicbreathandfarts
    @garlicbreathandfarts Місяць тому +66

    All empires have an expiration date.

    • @MeepChangeling
      @MeepChangeling Місяць тому +2

      * all Empires so far.

    • @RomanCatholic
      @RomanCatholic Місяць тому +8

      Except the Kingdom of God

    • @NikephorosCaesar
      @NikephorosCaesar Місяць тому

      Rome had an expiration date of over 2000 years

    • @petrilio
      @petrilio Місяць тому

      "And 50 states emerged independent following the oppressive rule of Emperor Trump, the supreme leader of the New World".

    • @drscopeify
      @drscopeify Місяць тому +2

      The USA is not an empire, we do not control other nations that speak different languages or have a different culture. Rome, Spain, British Empire ruled over other peoples, nations, cultures, the USA does none of that other than maybe Puerto Rico and Guam but these are small populations and obviously not part of an Empire. We could after WW2 have taken control over western Germany and Japan and annexed it to the USA as a state but not doing so resulted in the USSR also letting eastern Germany remain under its own leadership finally in 1991 allowing both halves of Germany to reunite and restore the country. The USA could have been an empire but it made the right choice and always supported the self-determination of all peoples and as such we are NOT a empire obviously. In fact the USA broke apart all remaining empire, we ended the Japanese Empire, we ended the British Empire, we ended the Spanish Empire, we ended the Soviet Union. The USA is an EMPIRE killer

  • @ericsonhazeltine5064
    @ericsonhazeltine5064 Місяць тому +11

    I had no idea these videos were now so facile to make! I’m very outdated.

    • @Pax.Alotin
      @Pax.Alotin Місяць тому +1

      VHS is still a hot item on eBay ---

    • @_ata_3
      @_ata_3 Місяць тому +1

      You mean the poor argumentation right?

    • @ericsonhazeltine5064
      @ericsonhazeltine5064 Місяць тому

      @@_ata_3 no, I meant the mechanics of producing them. Point and click for pictures, narration, etc.

    • @_ata_3
      @_ata_3 Місяць тому

      @@ericsonhazeltine5064Yeah, they are like powerpoint presentations. Same images repeated over and over again.

  • @mrs6968
    @mrs6968 Місяць тому

    Good topic it's crossed my mind a few times

  • @super_terram
    @super_terram Місяць тому +1

    The only thing that matters is trends. Humans trend to civilize in a single society like Rome, or the USA for around 200-300 years before corruption ultimately eats away at enough of the foundation, and structure of society, that it caves in on itself. It's not unlike other elements of the universe that expand until they collapse. The real question is, how long will the USA endure before it inevitably, and inexorably implodes. It doesn't help that the worlds super powers all try to hurry along each others demise.

  • @onemoreminute0543
    @onemoreminute0543 Місяць тому +19

    Eh, I don't know. I feel as if the US comparisons to Rome are both very US-centric and partly influenced by American exceptionalism. You could draw parallels between Rome and other modern countries too.
    But, just for shits and giggles, I'll run through potential parallels one could see between US and Roman history:
    - Both properly began by rejecting a monarchy and beginning a democratic institution
    - Both had their capitals attacked early on (Washington DC in 1812 and Rome in 390 BC)
    - Conflict between two groups where one threatens to secede from the nation (Confederacy, plebs threatening to set up new city in opposition patricians)
    - Both then underwent a period of roughly a hundred years where they expanded into what would become their core territory (US state stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, Roman conquest of Italy)
    - One of these expansions was in the south of the country which led to the takeover of land that would become an important second language in the state (seizure of Mexico leads to Spanish language/influence, seizure of Tarentum begins Greek language/influence)
    - The nations then expanded to overseas domination, over islands and then getting involved in the affairs of other nations (Spanish-American war + World Wars, Punic + Macedonian wars)
    - The nations greatest geopolitical rival comes to an end (USSR, Carthage)
    - Increasing wealth inequalities and poor treatment of veterans (don't know where America's Gracchi brothers are right now though)
    - Demands by a second class group for equal rights (Civil Rights Movement and Social War)
    - Increasing threats to home security lead to reactionary measures and social conflict (9/11 + war on terror, Cimbri-Teutones + Asiatic Vespers)
    So, if you're a 'US is literally Rome you guys!' truther, then the country should be seeing a Sulla and Marius soon. Which should be... fun.
    (Oh, and I wonder what part of Roman history syncs up with the hot mess that was Iraq?)

    • @1685Violin
      @1685Violin Місяць тому +9

      The conquest of the Northwestern territories of Mexico did not lead to Spanish becoming a widely spoken language in the US until the 1960s because at the time of the conquest, there were very few Spanish speakers living in those areas outside of Texas, the Californian missions, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The langauge grew because of the "mass movements" of Latin Americans after the 1960s that had nothing to do with the conquest of the Mexican territories except for the takeover of Cuba and Puerto Rico after the Spanish-American War.

    • @onemoreminute0543
      @onemoreminute0543 Місяць тому

      @@1685Violin Yeah, you're right, I was just stretching.

    • @yessirgg
      @yessirgg Місяць тому +1

      A parallel that I would make is the immigration boom (Romans: Germanic Peoples, US: literally everyone)

    • @kleinweichkleinweich
      @kleinweichkleinweich Місяць тому

      the Roman equivalent of Iraq was Iraq - well at least some part of the Seleukide empire, which in its prime stretched to Baktria (modern day Afghanistan)

  • @internetexplorer6097
    @internetexplorer6097 Місяць тому +5

    Sure feels like it😊

  • @rundbaum
    @rundbaum Місяць тому

    i got dat on ryan news netwerk! . . . this video was excellent. details & a knowledge of tone beyond my immediate understanding or exposure.

  • @blacktee64
    @blacktee64 Місяць тому +9

    History doesn't repeat but it does rhyme.

  • @SZKARLUPIEN
    @SZKARLUPIEN Місяць тому +12

    "losing loyalty of provincial elites"
    uh-oh...

  • @maciemichalik1342
    @maciemichalik1342 Місяць тому +2

    answer: yes

  • @anthonybird546
    @anthonybird546 Місяць тому +9

    I'm sure this is gonna bring totally calm, rational discussion to the comments and not be horrible at all

    • @_ata_3
      @_ata_3 Місяць тому

      They are pretty lame tho

  • @DonaldDucksRevenge
    @DonaldDucksRevenge Місяць тому +3

    Man there is no commentary on the current condition of our culture like that from a genuine history scholar.

  • @markdavid7013
    @markdavid7013 Місяць тому +1

    No power stays on top forever..The "playing field is becoming level" in our world.

  • @harpoen7358
    @harpoen7358 Місяць тому +2

    It is human behavior and that never changes throughout the centuries

  • @-NINE-THREE-
    @-NINE-THREE- Місяць тому +35

    Does Yogi Bear crap in a cave? Lol

    • @nowthenzen
      @nowthenzen Місяць тому +1

      If he does, boo-boo bear cleans it up

    • @akjdhajkdjhaghjkadh9804
      @akjdhajkdjhaghjkadh9804 Місяць тому +1

      how does it feel being wrong?

    • @-NINE-THREE-
      @-NINE-THREE- Місяць тому +1

      ​@@akjdhajkdjhaghjkadh9804
      .kcuf tsinummoC ,flesruoy lliK

  • @pogd740
    @pogd740 Місяць тому

    great video

  • @grumbogee1772
    @grumbogee1772 Місяць тому +2

    not an ai ad....the hell toldinstone.

  • @patavinity1262
    @patavinity1262 Місяць тому +5

    The answer is "yes it is" but it misses the larger point, which is that all empires go through this same life cycle: rise, peak, decline, destruction. The US is not an empire, but it is similarly powerful as a historical empire, and thus is doomed to repeat that same cycle.

  • @hansmalm2801
    @hansmalm2801 Місяць тому +4

    The same mechanism is working in Sweden right now. A previously high producing society are now full of people that are not producing. The wheels keep on spinning just for so long, but then it's suddenly over. That's why societies fall.

  • @trippknotic
    @trippknotic Місяць тому

    Well said 👍🏽

  • @DH-.
    @DH-. Місяць тому

    What are your thoughts on the mouse utopia experiment?

  • @jcsrst
    @jcsrst Місяць тому +2

    Nothing lasts forever.

  • @viatorinterra
    @viatorinterra Місяць тому +3

    I would say that the greatest similarity is that both are complex societies which have gone long past their inflection point in productivity

  • @thetbird69
    @thetbird69 Місяць тому +1

    I think it's just at a very basic level some countries have their time like the Roman empire and the British empire etc they come and go until it's the next person/countries' turn

  • @michaeldeaton
    @michaeldeaton Місяць тому +1

    The issue as I see it is we are on the cusp of giving Caesar his 10 years of unprecedented dictatorship, and Rome never returned to a Republic from that moment and if we give Presidents total immunity then we won't return to a Constitutional Democratic Republic ever either.
    That's the similarity. Our politics has become as absurd, and the call for dictatorship to resolve the issue is becoming clarion. This bothers me as a parent and an American citizen.

  • @ASIRIDesigns
    @ASIRIDesigns Місяць тому +4

    History doesn't repeat, it rhymes. To summarize your thoughts on why Rome fell, you stated:
    -Germanic tribes overcame its frontier defenses
    -A series of civil wars sapped its strength
    -undeveloped economy
    -It lost the loyalty of provincial elites
    -It fell because their officials were corrupt
    -and for 100 other reasons.
    I don't think that we should dismiss the clear parallels. We are on track for a systems collapse at this rate.

    • @melere777
      @melere777 Місяць тому +3

      I agree. I also think when people are comparing the two nations, they aren't adjusting for the modern era and think it's going to look exactly the same when it literally can't.

  • @HackerArmy03
    @HackerArmy03 Місяць тому +7

    “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
    In any way, I would very much welcome an American empire. Just make sure the Emperor has a very cool sounding name, preferably Latin or a royal British one, and I'll be all in.

    • @EllieMaes-Grandad
      @EllieMaes-Grandad Місяць тому +4

      You've got Harry, so good luck with 'royal' stuff . . .

    • @peterj9351
      @peterj9351 Місяць тому

      Name like, IDK, Barron?

  • @paulkoza8652
    @paulkoza8652 Місяць тому +2

    Nice job Garrett. I am a pessimist at heart.

  • @macsnafu
    @macsnafu Місяць тому

    While there are some general similarities, there are also a lot of differences between the U.S. and the Roman empire. While a decline of some sort seems inevitable, the nature of that decline could vary considerably.

  • @aleinstein3223
    @aleinstein3223 Місяць тому +55

    Yep, only 1200 years left

    • @-NINE-THREE-
      @-NINE-THREE- Місяць тому +8

      I hope you're right.

    • @joansparky4439
      @joansparky4439 Місяць тому +11

      back then only the very very very wealthy rulers would be able to send messages a long distance on a regular basis.. those mechanisms go much faster today.

    • @culturalobserver8721
      @culturalobserver8721 Місяць тому

      Our decline in the US is so rapid, we don’t have many years left to reverse it! This is reality whether some care to admit it, or not.

    • @aegonthedragon7303
      @aegonthedragon7303 Місяць тому

      Will there be a rogue crusade that plunders D.C.? Ill be really disappointed if they don’t include that.

    • @Voice_of_Adam
      @Voice_of_Adam Місяць тому +2

      @@joansparky4439 Exactly. Things happen a hell of a lot faster these days.

  • @janerkenbrack3373
    @janerkenbrack3373 Місяць тому +20

    I think too many people see the word "republic" being used for both nations and think that they are similar.
    The United States of America is unique in its founding, primarily because it endorsed the concept of government of, by, and for the People, who must participate in that government in order to keep it honest and true to its duty to us all.
    Should America fall it will be because of the complacency of the public, and the relinquishment of our civic duties to those who would rule over us.

    • @theeccentrictripper3863
      @theeccentrictripper3863 Місяць тому +15

      That's the Res publica in a nutshell, and it's where we got the idea, and the word lol

    • @mint8648
      @mint8648 Місяць тому +6

      Complacency of the public = bread and circuses?

    • @zarategabe
      @zarategabe Місяць тому +6

      The USA is not unique or new at all in this regard as there were hundreds of examples of democratic republics and experiments with democracy before the emergence of the USA. I know American Exceptionalism teaches us many myths but most aren't true

    • @hulking_presence
      @hulking_presence Місяць тому +4

      @@zarategabe USA is not a democratic country nor a republic. You are exceptional though. You are the first nation in the world adopting ochlocracy. Not only you gave voting rights to non land owning men, but to women and even to slaves. This is pure insanity. This was NEVER tried historically.
      On the other hand democracy is when only demos has voting rights - meaning free citizens, meaning non-slaves, meaning like 10% of the population. The same goes for roman "publica" - it's aristocracy who has voting rights. In America there is no aristocracy, only ochlos - the crowd.

    • @hulking_presence
      @hulking_presence Місяць тому

      @@theeccentrictripper3863 you got the word, that's right. But nothing else.

  • @harbifm766766
    @harbifm766766 Місяць тому +1

    Mostly will like midern day Brazil...or in worst case Venezuela

  • @wlewisiii
    @wlewisiii Місяць тому

    Depends on if we duplicate the Spanish Civil War first or not. That would change the dynamic enough to blow any roman comparisons straight to Gehenna.

  • @-V-_-V-
    @-V-_-V- Місяць тому +6

    Yes
    Source: my eyes

    • @SC-gw8np
      @SC-gw8np Місяць тому +2

      Someone will say you made a nonsensical comment because you did not cite a source soon.😅

  • @t.robinson4774
    @t.robinson4774 Місяць тому +3

    Short Answer: yes.
    Looking forward to next week’s video.

  • @user-qj6vg8gp3l
    @user-qj6vg8gp3l Місяць тому

    Haha! Loved the Alaric meme.

  • @user-hq3nj7vv9m
    @user-hq3nj7vv9m Місяць тому +1

    Fear is not about USA falling like Roman Empire, it is about USA turning from Roman Republic to Roman Empire, and that will trigger downfall

  • @TSEliot1978
    @TSEliot1978 Місяць тому +25

    I think the US is at the late Republic stage. Extreme political divison, vast differences in wealth, traditional values collapsing

    • @Nwmguy
      @Nwmguy Місяць тому +10

      Traditional values in what sense? The ones that have been around for ~80-150 years and only in the west? "Traditional values" is just a reactionary conservative talking point.

    • @Gobrech
      @Gobrech Місяць тому +13

      ​@@Nwmguy "Reactionary" you feel smarter using little words that your weird friends use to panic/feel smug about how crazy, naive or deluded everyone outside your circle is.
      However, this narrow perspective leaves your worldview fragile and lacking depth, blinding you to the growing alienation experienced by many currently.

    • @Gobrech
      @Gobrech Місяць тому +10

      ​@@Nwmguy this is just a pathetic anti-reactionary talking point, Christian values have been around for a long time.

    • @Gobrech
      @Gobrech Місяць тому

      P. S. Opposition to insanity? REACTIONARY! White blood cells in your body attacking foreign elements? REACTIONARY!
      I'm so smart! You're just a misled drone, unlike me, who can't bring any more nuance to the convo, or even has put in remotely any thought into anything relevant, but is okay with the current neo-liberal status quo.

    • @Gobrech
      @Gobrech Місяць тому

      P. S. Opposition to insanity? RE@CTIONARY! White blood cells in your body attacking foreign elements? Also RE@CTIONARY!
      I'm so smart! You're just a misled drone, unlike me, who can't bring any more nuance to the convo, or even has put in remotely any thought into anything relevant but is okay with the current neo-liberal status quo.

  • @tbrian420
    @tbrian420 Місяць тому +25

    The American dream is dead - forget ever owning a home and rent is barely affordable in most cities

    • @dziban303
      @dziban303 Місяць тому +12

      Thanks, hypercapitalism! At least we brought a lot of value to a few shareholders before the end

    • @gabrielinostroza4989
      @gabrielinostroza4989 Місяць тому +3

      The real state market is primed to crash hard again, precisely because of that. No one can actually pay for all that real state, ergo the money that was invested in them will never be paid back. Things will become very cheap very suddenly, but at a huge cost to those who had their money put on them. The same is happening in a lot of countries, including China.

    • @zarategabe
      @zarategabe Місяць тому +7

      ​@@dziban303hyper capitalism is really just an inevitable consequence of regular capitalism. Capitalism is declining along with the USA

    • @PerceptionVsReality333
      @PerceptionVsReality333 Місяць тому +4

      Now it's an American nightmare.

    • @grimaffiliations3671
      @grimaffiliations3671 Місяць тому +1

      its because of all these strict zoning laws that criminalize density

  • @TacticalGAMINGzz
    @TacticalGAMINGzz Місяць тому +1

    PUT YOUR SOURCES IN THE DESCRIPTION

  • @NoMadKid
    @NoMadKid 26 днів тому

    The question is, what is the contingency plan after the fall? Or the fall is the goal?

  • @lephantomchickn3676
    @lephantomchickn3676 24 дні тому +4

    Not a fan of taking the AI sponsorship

  • @lucius_cursor
    @lucius_cursor Місяць тому +3

    Like some of the other comments here, I focus on the fall of the republic, not of Rome itself. It is the degradation into monarchy that I seek to avoid, and I can’t help but notice what seems to me to be uncanny parallels that caused the stability of the republic to decline in such a way that a people who reviled kings and would even strip a citizen of their rights (and by extension their life), would seek harbor in monarchy under a different name, albeit Augustus took a much smarter approach than Caesar. Either way, for me the issue is not necessarily the fall of the US, but the fall of her free institutions, or rather what we have left, which in my estimation is the shell of a republic.
    Some of our institutions have been twisted beyond what the founders would have recognized. Somehow 435 (+3 non voting members) representatives are supposed to represent more than 300 million people? No. The senators should be elected by popular vote? No. The large misunderstanding and misconceptions of the electoral college will likely lead also to a popular vote, which will not help our current polarization. And speaking of, while the optimates and populares were not a political party in how we would imagine today, they were effectively political factions, and it is undoubted that these two factions becoming more and more polarized helped in the destruction of the republic.
    The fall of the Roman republic has information that could allow us to continue as something akin to a republic or even restore some of our institutions, for proper checks and balances, making sure the people are properly represented as well as the aristocracy, in that no one faction should have more power than another. However, as human history has proven, all things come to and end, and we are in the death throes of our republican experiment. It is this part of Roman history that I feel as important and feel like the American journey is copying, albeit in slightly different ways, but the large actors appear to be the same. This is likely not the end of America, just the fall of her republic and her rise to monarchy.
    Edited for paragraphs.

    • @abrahamanthony7106
      @abrahamanthony7106 Місяць тому +1

      Use paragraphs, man!

    • @lucius_cursor
      @lucius_cursor Місяць тому

      @@abrahamanthony7106 good point, I made an edit. Does that work?

    • @SC-gw8np
      @SC-gw8np Місяць тому

      Egalitarianism has never (truly) been tried in history and will likely never be tried in the future. There has always been the rulers and the ruled. Yet, you hope for such an impossible prospect?

    • @lucius_cursor
      @lucius_cursor Місяць тому

      No, it is not egalitarianism that I am after. It is stability of government and individual freedom. Egalitarianism is probably, as you seem to agree, an impossibility. A republic, properly, restrains the political sphere of government, while not allowing one faction of government, such as the legislative, executive or judicial, or however you would like to chop these up, to have more control or power than the other faction. This is done through checks and balances and distribution of power. Older ideas of American republicanism (not the political party). And to be clear, all things must end, and it is not the end I think to prevent. I wish to maintain stability as long as possible. Education of the political system at play and what it is supposed to be, contrary to what it is, is a good start.

    • @SC-gw8np
      @SC-gw8np Місяць тому

      @@lucius_cursor That all sounds good in theory but will be difficult to put into practice. The thing about power is that it is difficult to control it through checks and balances. The ones who have it won’t easily relinquish it. I think an accountability system would be easier to put into place. Those who fail to accomplish much while in power should go by the next term.

  • @joker709_7
    @joker709_7 Місяць тому

    The only comparison I draw are the forever wars.

  • @adizmal
    @adizmal Місяць тому +1

    I think the "main" difference is that America is not necessarily declining, but rather, has been a steward of the world as its sole hegemon for the past 80+ years. In a post WW2 geopolitical sense, of course America was on top, it was the only one left standing with intact manufacturing, labor force, etc. Logically over the 80 years since, various other nations and cultures have caught up, so to speak. It's not that America has been declining so much as, America spent a lot of time and effort to create a global environment where others could thrive and develop. And some of those have done so with efficiency, some in isolation, others have been more cooperative, etc. It's all very interesting.

  • @chomskyhonk1680
    @chomskyhonk1680 Місяць тому +28

    In my completely non-professional opinion I think we are going through something very similar to the Bronze Age Collapse.

    • @dutchplanderlinde8883
      @dutchplanderlinde8883 Місяць тому

      Illegal invaders =/= Sea Peoples

    • @Pax.Alotin
      @Pax.Alotin Місяць тому +7

      From my perspective - we are facing something far worse ----- the collapse of Hollywood.😎

    • @G-Mastah-Fash
      @G-Mastah-Fash Місяць тому +14

      Except we openly invited the sea people.

    • @brock6856
      @brock6856 Місяць тому +1

      Pastoral Appalachians invading the Midwest farming communities

    • @Nwmguy
      @Nwmguy Місяць тому

      ​@Pax.Alotin nah, lol. What about when European immigrants were coming over in boatloads in the late 19th to mid 20th century and were given amnesty to enter the country?? Literally crossing the sea. Stop your racist dog whistling. Borders aren't even real dude.

  • @Dave_Sisson
    @Dave_Sisson Місяць тому +22

    I always thought the decline of the American Imperium is more analogous to the decline of the British Empire. But the major difference is that post World War I, the British were broke and readily accepted that soon they would no longer be the worlds preeminent superpower, but the Americans (perhaps because their culture is more insular) will deny the decline of their influence at every stage.

    • @EllieMaes-Grandad
      @EllieMaes-Grandad Місяць тому

      UK has been living a 'grand delusion' since the end of the nineteenth century. Now we import the third world and politicians tell us we're doing well . . . . as if.

    • @richdobbs6595
      @richdobbs6595 Місяць тому +8

      The British were broke and fraction of military strength of their ally, which was at its apex financially and militarily. So it was pretty easy to "readily accept" it - despite and because of things like the Indian partition, Palestine, Malay, Greece, Suez Canal Crisis, etc, which were pretty strong indications that they were now a regional power only. Americans, at the height of their Imperium, have faced a strong challenge from the USSR which ultimately failed, a number of failed intervention from Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Iran, foolishly over propping up communist China, getting bogged down in a "War on Terror", etc. Yet they still have the largest economy, the most aircraft carriers, just as many nukes, a growing population, etc. So even though their decline in influence is undeniable, it would be inaccurate to say that this decline is somehow similar to Britain winning WW2 but losing an empire in the process. Its more like the situation when Britain lost America. A set back, but there was the possibility of future success in a contested environment.

    • @Dave_Sisson
      @Dave_Sisson Місяць тому

      @@richdobbs6595 Oh I agree with the first half of your post, but I think that the British sort of foresaw their future decline by the early 1920s and just accepted it, even though they were still the worlds strongest power at the time. Whereas the Americans are at the same stage 100 years later and are not accepting it.

    • @brick6347
      @brick6347 Місяць тому +1

      ​@@Dave_Sissonmost Britons had zero vested interest in it. Most didn't even get the right to vote until 1918, in some cases 1928. The powers that be may have accepted it, but most were oblivious and powerless. Americans have a stake in their society in an entirely different way

    • @Dave_Sisson
      @Dave_Sisson Місяць тому +6

      @@brick6347 While I'm not British, that's just not true. manhood suffrage was long established before the First World War and ordinary people were very involved in the political process, far more than Americans at the time.

  • @apocalypseblues3897
    @apocalypseblues3897 Місяць тому

    i always thought that when my fellow americans drew comparison to the fall of rome they were referring to the much more relevant fall of the republic