Paper Example on Fall of the Roman Republic

Analysis of the Subject Matter

The subject before the fall of the Roman Republic, income inequality and xenophobia threatened its very foundation rings a lot of bells in the mind of a scholar of history. Many countries and empires have immersed a lot of wealth and become so developed however at one time, or the other such states fall at different times and level. The fall is always attributed to some factors ranging across the board. For some states, the very good and important factors that drove their development again become their fall determinants.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

This topic is very important for history scholars as noted above because it first gives us a glimpse of where we are coming from where we are and what brought us in that situation. A clear analysis of the three perspectives, therefore, teaches a person on the steps that need to be taken going forward hence can reflect on the future (Boissoneault par 6). The title, therefore, is not only imperative for Romans but to every person that comes from any part of the world as anyone can relate the events that took place in the Roman republic to some happenings in their countries. It can act as a warning sign to other states. The reasons for falling however much they may look different or ignited by different factors are almost the same. A good number of states that have shown failure have been characterized by leadership failure or poor governance. It is worth noting that leaders can make a republic grow very rapidly, but they can also torch it to ashes within a short period. Consquently, a good number of wars and genocides that ravaged some of the world highly developed countries have sparked and stirred by world leaders who have lost development visions and who have sought to pursue self-interest as opposed to the interest of their subjects. Such leaders create and sustain political wrangles that most of the time turns to be very detrimental to the peace and survival of a country. When political wrangles get out of hand, the outbreak of war becomes inevitable.

Overexploitation by the leaders is another likely cause of unrest and wars that mostly leads to failure of states and empires at some level. Exploitation manifests in different ways which may include misuse of power by a leader, abusing the people he or she represents. One can also exploit by using public resources in a way that only serve his selfish interests at the expense of the citizen. Exploitation can also occur regarding heavy taxation of the citizens which is not commensurate to the services that the government render to the public. Just as other factors exploitation can be suppressed up to a time when the citizens raise and decide they can take it no more (Boissoneault par 8). When it bursts then the repercussions can take a country many years back. These are warning signs and a country whose leaders' practices exploitation of such kind is breeding disaster.

Resources that a state is endowed with have also been regarded as a threat to its existence and development. The term "resource curse" has been coined to describe the effects of natural resources in a country. Evidence from some natural resource-endowed countries shows little gain regarding development for such countries. Most of the oil producing countries in the Middle East are characterized by unrest and wars with terror and other gang groups. Such conflicts are a recipe for disaster and failure. Resources are very important determinants of development and stability of a country, but the exploitation of such resources must be informed by good character and moral values from the leaders.

Inequality is another recipe for war and disaster and should not be allowed to take root in any nation or society. In most states leaders and a few members of their clique tends to immerse a lot of material wealth and become bourgeoisie at the expense of the majority of the citizens who then are left with peanuts. The proletariat hence lives at the mercy of the few wealthy elite bourgeoisies who exploit them. When the proletariat decide they cannot take it anymore and because they are the majority, they tend to rise against the wealthy elite who also retaliate with their sophisticated weapons and war erupts. Such wars can be fatal and can lead to the fall of a state.

The subject before the fall of the Roman Republic, income inequality and xenophobia threatened its foundation is a very important read that can be used to understand and relate to some issues in history. Through this subject, one understands the origin of the fall of the country and can relate the same to any country that brews the same. It also makes it possible to understand the politics and political instabilities.

Lessons Learned From the Article

The first lesson that comes out clearly to my understanding is the fact fall of the Roman Republic did not just happen abruptly; rather, it was a product of historical injustices that occurred before. The fall was brewing even when the republic was still enjoying immense growth. The fall of the Roman Empire did not just occur because of the sudden murder of the dictator Julius Ceaser. The fall determinant or reasons for failure started manifesting long before the dictatorship and death of Ceaser. This, therefore, was just a trigger that set ablaze what has been taking place for long in the lives of the people. The article begins by stating that warning signs could be read long before when for example politicians like Tiberius and Gaius were disallowed from making populist reforms.

It is also important to note that of the failure was politically instigated. There were warning signs of what can happen in a society whose people have lost the way were political. As stated above attempts to institute reforms would be thwarted and visionary leaders who proponent such reforms would be murdered by fellow politicians as the case of the Gracchi brothers. Political selfishness was also evident among leaders. A civil war was triggered in the 87 B.C. by a general- Sulla who marched his army on Rome in the name of preventing his opponent from remaining in power.

It is also a new thing to learn that the United States share the same development stories. The writer argues that the rise and development of the United States and the rise and development of Rome are similar and that one will end at the same place (Boissoneault par 11). The end of the cold war for the US and defeat of the Carthage by Rome have some analogous similarities.

The clear evidence of resource curse and inequality in Rome. Having known that resources and inequality are a recipe for failure of nations, It did not occur to me that the same play a great role in the fall of the Roman Republic. Rome was getting a lot of wealth from the silver mines that they acquired from conquer of Carthage, Greece, and Spain. The wealth was being accumulated at the hands of a few individuals including the senatorial elites and the generals at the expense of the citizens leading to inequality as the effects of the wars of conquest were making the people poorer.

The article opens my eyes to see that the United States is going through the same process that Rome went through before it fallen. The questions that the writer reacts to in relating the Roman experiences before the fall and what is happening in the U.S show clearly that the U.S are brewing the same recipe. At the time before the fall of the Roman Republic, the land ownership in Rome was the same as what is happening today in the modern United States. The U.S. is has taken a shift from people owned establishments towards corporations and large firms which are consuming the people and their small entities. The corporations are reaping the large benefits while the people get peanuts and the writer compared it to the Amazon swallowing much of the market share.

Also from the article, one learns that politicians and leaders are very important people in the prevention of disasters and that is if they are good leaders. The fall of a republic is always triggered by people reading ill form their government. The leaders should, therefore, ensure that people feel part of their government. The laws that are passed by legislators must be for the benefit of all and not only the elite.

Leaders are the most powerful individuals of a country since they control the instruments of power. There, however, have to check either internal or foreign to ensure that the leaders do not make harmful decisions like what happened in Rome. It was the Mediterranean superpower, and with very wealthy leaders, there were no checks to keep the leaders together (Boissoneault par 13). I also learn that the modern popular politics can be a harmful factor as it drives people away from the old ways of doing business.

It would not be easy to know that the fall of the Roman Republic was also contributed to by the failure to incorporate conquers as citizens of Roma or subjects. The Italians were never given the rights to vote, run for office or have their voice heard at all yet they also faced the same challenges the Romans faced. The started to call for citizenship, and therefore unrest started.

The backdrop of the lessons that I have learned from this article sends a warning to the U.S. and other western countries to proceed very carefully. The U.S as a cosmopolitan state should take a lot of keenness in integrating new groups. It should bring the people working within its borders into full participation in the system and not resist as this would trigger opposition from such groups who are very central to the existence of the U.S.

Work Cited

Boissoneault Lorraine. Before the Fall of the Roman Republic, Income Inequality and Xenophobia Threatened Its Foundations. Smithsonian.com 2018. Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/fall-roman-republic-income-inequality-and-xenophobia-threatened-its-foundations-180967249/.