The Collapse of Ancient Rome

By Nunziante Mastrolia

The free market economic theory as one of the causes that turned a Republic into a despotism.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nunziante Mastrolia
• Release date: Apr 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9786050370751

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Nunziante Mastrolia

The Collapse of Ancient Rome

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Table of contents

Executive Summary

The Causes of the Wealth of Nations

The Roman «Open Society»

The First Social Question

The Dictatorship of Augustus

Conclusions

About the Author

Notes

Nobody destroyed the creative genius of the Roman Empire,

no blow was dealt to the ancient world by the outside,

no barbarian invaded the centers of the ancient production. It happened as if it

was bent and crumpled by itself suddenly, like a plant whose

roots were not sufficiently fed, and not as a

mighty oak uprooted by the storm.

Michael Rostovcev

The political problem of mankind is to combine three objectives:

economic efficiency, social justice and individual liberty.

John Maynard Keynes

No society can surely be flourishing and happy,

of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable

Adam Smith

Sustained economic expansion in itself guarantees

neither equality nor prosperity;

it is not even a reliable source of economic development

Tony Judt

If freedom is not accompanied and supported

with a minimum of economic autonomy,

with the emancipation from the essential needs,

it does not exist for the individual,

it is a mere ghost.

Carlo Rosselli

Executive Summary

In the age-old search of the causes of the wealth of nations it seems that a firm anchorage has been reached nowadays: overturning the Marxian thesis, the superstructure is the independent variable that explains the economic structure. This explains why rich nations have become rich and poor nations have remained poor. However, it is necessary to solve another problem: why do some countries return poor?

In order to have economic development, it is necessary to have a particular institutional structure, which is able to guarantee individual liberties (i.e., the liberal liberties) and property rights. The institutional instruments required to guarantee these rights and liberties are the separation of powers, the rule of law, political and economic pluralism, democracy and secularism.

Given this institutional structure, the market can function and produce wealth. But at the same time the market generates social questions and, in the absence of a particular construct of rules, it tends to the monopoly rather than to perfect competition.

If this social question is not resolved, the crowd - which by now has no hope for a better future for themselves and their children, and fears of starvation - is willing to offer her arm and her consent, and is willing to voluntarily surrender all her rights to anyone who promises them bread and a hope for a better future.

Therefore, if the free citizen is the fulcrum around which the open society is built, when this citizen, albeit formally sovereign in the pages of the constitution, has not an economic independence and social serenity, enabling him to live a free and dignified existence, he becomes a beggar, then the whole building of an open society collapses in on itself.

This means that a social question, if not resolved, corrodes democracy from within: on the one hand allowing the money to buy the political, military and information power, thus