Opinion: Perils and Parallels: The demise of the Roman Republic and the United States

As the upcoming American presidential election begins to play out, it is impossible to ignore the uncanny parallels between the United States and the fall of the Roman Republic. Are we seeing today a dramatic repetition of the fall of the Roman Republic with the decline of the United States?

Winston Churchill wrote, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Rome once stood as a shining beacon of democracy, military skill and innovation, but it eventually crumbled under its own weight as it succumbed to the overwhelming forces of political corruption, conspiracies and civil war.

Political polarization was one of the first indications of Rome’s oncoming downfall. When politics boils down to a zero-sum game, nobody wins, especially not the general public.

In Rome, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus made multiple attempts at land reform to essentially take from the rich elite and give it back to the masses. While noble as a pursuit, they created a political storm between the wealthy Patricians and the poor Plebeians, where neither party was willing to find a compromise when their own interests were at stake.

Eventually, both Gracchi brothers were killed and their land reforms precipitated a period of severe tension and polarization and in fact were the first instance of political violence and a break from cultural and political norms in Rome.

It is unclear when the extreme polarization that led to the downfall of the Roman Republic began to take root in American politics. Was it Vietnam? Watergate or the many “gates” that have happened since? It’s unclear when it started, but it is evident that we are clearly living in an era of hostility and lack of political compromise in the US today.

A glaring example of this polarization is the drama of passing the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare. While flawed, the notion of ensuring all Americans have healthcare should be something all parties embrace.

According to a 2015 article in PubMed, “Republican congressmen, governors, and Republican candidates have consistently opposed the ACA and have vowed to repeal it.”

Today, lawmakers more often than not vote along strict party lines, making it difficult to pass any bipartisan legislations, even for something as basic as keeping the government operational.

Populism and polarization seem to go hand in hand in the rise of Roman leaders who appealed to the fears and desires of the Roman people, and which played a significant role in the downfall of the Roman Republic. However, most of the “populist” leaders only cared about themselves, not the people of the Republic. Sound familiar?

One of these populist figures was Clodius Pulcher, a Patrician noble and demagogue, who gained extreme popularity among the Plebeian class of society near the end of the Roman Republic and held the position of Plebeian Tribune. Clodius promoted extreme mob violence and was involved in many scandalous affairs.

When one thinks about political violence in the USA, the mind immediately jumps to the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. This was an act of political violence (deliberate or not) by a demagogue who claims to speak for the people … is Donald Trump a modern day Clodius?

Trump and Clodius both were controversial figures and took unorthodox routes to power. Trump was a businessman who had no real prior political experience before becoming President of the United States, in contrast to Clodius who was a patrician who desired to become a plebeian, a highly controversial and immoral act, to occupy political office.

Despite their enormous wealth, both Clodius and Donald Trump seemed to have a knack for appealing to the common people and portraying themselves as defenders of the working class. They would exploit this to obtain the support of the general people and the poor which would gain them sway for their legislations and bills to be passed.

Finally, both embraced the use of the crowd and (less so with Donald Trump) participated in some type of political violence. ‘Whoever controls the mob controls the political agenda’, and this concept is something that Trump and Clodius realised in the early stages of their careers and used to great effect.

In order for these populist seeds to bear fruit, there is a need for fertile soil, and there is no better way to sow discontent than real or perceived economic inequality. According to research, the top 1 percent of Roman society-controlled 16 percent of the wealth (currently less than half of what America’s top 1 percent control). This was a major source of discontent in Rome, which enabled populists like Clodius to organize mobs who were furious with a government that favored the wealthy.

Just like in Rome, economic inequality has been a reason for political violence in America and there have been numerous examples of demonstrations and strikes in the USA related to this issue. The Occupy Wall Street movement, MAGA riots, a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor and the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol can all be considered violent opposition to the growing inequality in the United States.

If we were to align current events with a timeline of the fall of the Roman Republic, we would find ourselves just before the civil war between Pompey and Julius Caesar. In Rome, Caesar prevailed and became dictator for life (until his assassination). If history is not repeating but rather rhyming, we may be on the cusp of a similar situation in the United States, with the upcoming election becoming the spark for the end of American democracy.