罗马帝国民主制度造成人民选择福利,导致其终结.

In order to continue it's social/socialist programs in the capital city and empire, Rome would enable massive taxation to it's municipalities and territories (land whose residents would not be afforded the rights of a Roman Citizen), as well as impose trade restrictions ( a good example was Rome's price fixing of wheat in order to support it's burgeoning welfare system - Roman citizens were "entitled to the right" of "free" wheat, the "Annona") to keep artificial prices on certain commodities. This lead to massive inflation, which in turn put an added burden on the Roman state.

“What was the root cause of it all? The Romans had fallen prey to socialism. This cancerous system of mushrooming welfare, high taxes, trade restrictions, and inflation destroyed the Roman system of common law and demolished the currency and the economy. By 400 A.D. the troops were no longer well paid and some units went renegade.

“When the Romans withdrew, the local people were left with no law and no military defense unless they could hire one of these renegade Roman units. Commanders of the renegade units became local dictators.

“The roads fell in disrepair. Long distance trade and communication ceased. Supplies of raw materials from distant lands began to dry up. Mass production ended and towns started preying on each other. Each latifundium became a separate nation struggling to survive in isolation from the rest of the world. Each had its own castle and army. Taxes, taxes, and more taxes.

“In our school books we are taught that the Roman Empire fell because it had become militarily weak and was overrun by tribes of barbarians. This is a half-truth. In most areas, civilization had already been destroyed by socialism; the people were well down the road of barbarism themselves – long before the arrival of the foreign tribes.

所有跟帖： 

• 谬论。罗马对外扩张过度超过了国力，才玩完了。 -Africangrey- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:03:42

• From Plato's "Republic" -BeLe- ♀ (501 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:05:54

• 一针见脓胞！！！ -篱笆08- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:10:03

• 厉害!应该置顶. -尚文- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:18:19

• 的确，很难教育voters to sacrifice now for deferred gratification。 -燕京十景- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:22:22

• 政治就该是精英玩的，他们吃饱了才放得下，能专心打造崇高理想 -伊敏- ♀ (57 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:31:28

• 族裔有差别，日本人德国人会毫不犹豫，中国人韩国人会讨价还价然后也同意 -mooseamoose- ♂ (0 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:32:18

• 再看看西班牙人希腊人，其他的我觉得大家都心知肚明了 -mooseamoose- ♂ (0 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:32:59

• 北欧才社会主义呢, 过得挺好. 正例反例都能找到. -worriedmom1- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:34:37

• 北欧的自然资源非常丰富,人均自然资源超过沙特 -NEWHNAD- ♂ (0 bytes) () 11/08/2012 postreply 10:46:25

• 美国并非普选制. -worriedmom1- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:32:50

• exceptionalism建立在宗教和无知基础上就无敌了 -mooseamoose- ♂ (0 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:34:08

• Sorry, the quote is from Tyler rather than Plato -BeLe- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:52:30

• 那是说过老百姓听的民主，现在的选举中参杂了太多的议题，资本加以 -ra3940- ♂ (78 bytes) () 11/08/2012 postreply 14:11:57

• 蛋糕做不大，怎么分都玩不下去了，比如满清国民政府和78年前的中国 -mooseamoose- ♂ (0 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:14:44

• 罗马帝国早就不是民主的共和国，是empire，dictatorship -Africangrey- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:19:04

• 历史从来没有出现过全民都有投票权的民主，美国女性都到什么时候才有的？ -mooseamoose- ♂ (0 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:22:56

• It is the greed of the ruling class, i.e. those in Rome, that ex -africangrey- ♀ (232 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:37:02

• 而政客利用这些从战争中回来一无所获的城市贫民获得选举胜利，许诺他们各种 -bndrun- ♀ (73 bytes) () 11/07/2012 postreply 20:51:48

• 人类几千年的发展，越来越民主。 -xwu622- ♂ (0 bytes) () 11/08/2012 postreply 09:53:16

• 一看标题就知道是瞎扯蛋。无知到极点了。 -faday- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/08/2012 postreply 15:44:48