Why the “last Roman” and "While Rome Burned"?
by: Flavius Aëtius

There are many reasons given for the fall of the Roman Empire—constant invasions, barbarization of the army and empire, the rise of coordinated external enemies, slavery and an unwillingness for the Roman citizen to innovate or labor, collapse of the economy and a reduction in tax base, failure to continue expanding the empire, governmental posts as a path to profit instead of a civic obligation, regional and other faction, along many others. These explanations all have merit but are symptoms of a larger problem of decadence in late Roman society.

Current commentators point to parallel signs of American decay—failed foreign military adventures, crumbling infrastructure, an increasingly under educated population, illegal immigration, partisan bickering, massive and inefficient deficit spending on entitlement programs, ignorance and apathy of the electorate, a host of economic problems including a house/lending/finance/currency crisis, inappropriate influence over policy-makers by special interests, a failing manufacturing industry, new economic and military powers, governmental standstill and a legion of other major issues.

My belief is that the single greatest cause of deterioration and the eventual fall of the Roman Empire was the bitter partisan fighting for political power among Roman leaders. General, prefect, senator, and common citizen were all involved in the bitter and violent struggles for political power—engaging in declared and undeclared civil war during the frequent power vacuums in government. The massive amounts of capitol expended in the attempt to win and hold power at any cost drained and weakened the empire until it was no longer able to support itself or defend the vital border areas of the empire. This weakness allowed the symptoms identified by the numerous commentators develop and develop into recurring systemic issues.

America has a similar problem. Politicians (along with individual citizens and corporations) on both sides of the aisle are all too willing to expend vast amounts of capital of all types in a never-ending quest to gain and keep political and economic power at any cost. Unlike their Roman predecessors today’s political aspirants do not typically seek to take and power by force of arms but instead see political dispute, pork, increased spending, and meddling with government agencies as the way to gain and maintain political power and influence. This power at any cost seems to be prevalent in both societies. Contrary to common belief this problem is not a Republican or Democratic problem, but has become an American problem.

In both Rome and modern (post-modern?) America individual advantage triumphs over the common good. A state has finite resources available to it. A society as rich as the United States or the Roman Empire has vast resources from which it can draw; but there have a natural limit to what can be sustained in the long-term.

The constant battles among political factions bled Rome dry, draining the empire of irreplaceable capital and human skills painstakingly built over centuries. Likewise, in the United States, the political parties, regions, and individual leaders all tend to follow a basic path to political power—increased and unwise taxation and spending along with a ruthlessness “whatever it takes” mentality.

In both cases too many citizens forgot that being a Roman or American citizen does not only include a set of rights but also a set of obligations. If we ignore or forget these obligations are rights will soon cease to exist. Like the idealized Rome there is an idealized America. The ideal of America is contained in our founding documents such as the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the various Amendments. We ignore these ideals at our peril.

Both Rome and America look back to mythical founders, while flawed, who considered the common good to be one and the same as the individual good. While these leaders never quite meet our greatest expectations, in some ways they transcend their historical reality and become symbols of these ideals.

We, like the Romans, turned our backs on these ideals and have mistaken flawed individual advantage for the greatest good. The virtuous Romans and previous generations of Americans understood without a strong, stable society one’s life is robbed of much of its meaning and richness. For this reason I write as the “last Roman” or perhaps more properly the “last American”; much like the historical Flavius Aëtius naively fighting a battle in a war that was lost long ago for an ideal only hazily remembered.

This blog aims to frankly discuss the crisis we are facing here in America. Many times during its history Rome seemed on the brink of collapse only to reconsolidate and recover. My hope is to see and chart America’s similar recovery from an increasing decadence. My fear is that the taking of the pseudonym of Flavius Aëtius is all to appropriate an identity to assume while aiming to observe and comment on Rome Burning.

We welcome and encourage comments on the state of America and almost any other political, legal, economic, or social commentary you might have.