Does history really repeat it's self? And if so, is the USA comparable to Rome have a fall coming?

Question

Another words, are we getting so large that eventually we will consume all fuels, agriculture and product that will put us at a loss of why we are here?

Answer 1

There were many reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire, but the ones you have listed aren't quite true. Many actually blame the introduction of Christianity for the decline. Christianity made many Roman citizens into pacifists, making it more difficult to defend against the barbarian attackers. Also money used to build churches could have been used to maintain the empire. Although some argue that Christianity may have provided some morals and values for a declining civilization and therefore may have actually prolonged the imperial era.

Decline in Morals and Values

Those morals and values that kept together the Roman legions and thus the empire could not be maintained towards the end of the empire. Crimes of violence made the streets of the larger cities unsafe. Even during PaxRomana there were 32,000 prostitutes in Rome. Emperors like Nero and Caligula became infamous for wasting money on lavish parties where guests ate and drank until they became ill. The most popular amusement was watching the gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum. These were attended by the poor, the rich, and frequently the emperor himself. As gladiators fought, vicious cries and curses were heard from the audience. One contest after another was staged in the course of a single day. Should the ground become too soaked with blood, it was covered over with a fresh layer of sand and the performance went on.

Public Health

There were many public health and environmental problems. Many of the wealthy had water brought to their homes through lead pipes. Previously the aqueducts had even purified the water but at the end lead pipes were thought to be preferable. The wealthy death rate was very high. The continuous interaction of people at the Colosseum, the blood and death probable spread disease. Those who lived on the streets in continuous contact allowed for an uninterrupted strain of disease much like the homeless in the poorer run shelters of today. Alcohol use increased as well adding to the incompetency of the general public.

Political Corruption

One of the most difficult problems was choosing a new emperor. Unlike Greece where transition may not have been smooth but was at least consistent, the Romans never created an effective system to determine how new emperors would be selected. The choice was always open to debate between the old emperor, the Senate, the Praetorian Guard (the emperor's's private army), and the army. Gradually, the Praetorian Guard gained complete authority to choose the new emperor, who rewarded the guard who then became more influential, perpetuating the cycle. Then in 186 A. D. the army strangled the new emperor, the practice began of selling the throne to the highest bidder. During the next 100 years, Rome had 37 different emperors - 25 of whom were removed from office by assassination. This contributed to the overall weaknesses of the empire.

Unemployment

During the latter years of the empire farming was done on large estates called latifundia that were owned by wealthy men who used slave labor. A farmer who had to pay workmen could not produce goods as cheaply. Many farmers could not compete with these low prices and lost or sold their farms. This not only undermined the citizen farmer who passed his values to his family, but also filled the cities with unemployed people. At one time, the emperor was importing grain to feed more than 100,000 people in Rome alone. These people were not only a burden but also had little to do but cause trouble and contribute to an ever increasing crime rate.

Inflation

The roman economy suffered from inflation (an increase in prices) beginning after the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Once the Romans stopped conquering new lands, the flow of gold into the Roman economy decreased. Yet much gold was being spent by the romans to pay for luxury items. This meant that there was less gold to use in coins. As the amount of gold used in coins decreased, the coins became less valuable. To make up for this loss in value, merchants raised the prices on the goods they sold. Many people stopped using coins and began to barter to get what they needed. Eventually, salaries had to be paid in food and clothing, and taxes were collected in fruits and vegetables.

Urban decay

Wealthy Romans lived in a domus, or house, with marble walls, floors with intricate colored tiles, and windows made of small panes of glass. Most Romans, however, were not rich, They lived in small smelly rooms in apartment houses with six or more stories called islands. Each island covered an entire block. At one time there were 44,000 apartment houses within the city walls of Rome. First-floor apartments were not occupied by the poor since these living quarters rented for about $00 a year. The more shaky wooden stairs a family had to climb, the cheaper the rent became. The upper apartments that the poor rented for $40 a year were hot, dirty, crowed, and dangerous. Anyone who could not pay the rent was forced to move out and live on the crime-infested streets. Because of this cities began to decay.

Inferior Technology

During the last 400 years of the empire, the scientific achievements of the Romans were limited almost entirely to engineering and the organization of public services. They built marvelous roads, bridges, and aqueducts. They established the first system of medicine for the benefit of the poor. But since the Romans relied so much on human and animal labor, they failed to invent many new machines or find new technology to produce goods more efficiently. They could not provide enough goods for their growing population. They were no longer conquering other civilizations and adapting their technology, they were actually losing territory they could not longer maintain with their legions.

Military Spending

Maintaining an army to defend the border of the Empire from barbarian attacks was a constant drain on the government. Military spending left few resources for other vital activities, such as providing public housing and maintaining quality roads and aqueducts. Frustrated Romans lost their desire to defend the Empire. The empire had to begin hiring soldiers recruited from the unemployed city mobs or worse from foreign counties. Such an army was not only unreliable, but very expensive. The emperors were forced to raise taxes frequently which in turn led again to increased inflation.


THE FINAL BLOWS
For years, the well-disciplined Roman army held the barbarians of Germany back. Then in the third century A. D. the Roman soldiers were pulled back from the Rhine-Danube frontier to fight civil war in Italy. This left the Roman border open to attack. Gradually Germanic hunters and herders from the north began to overtake Roman lands in Greece and Gaul (later France). Then in 476 A. D. the Germanic general Odacer or Odovacar overthrew the last of the Roman Emperors, Augustulus Romulus. From then on the western part of the Empire was ruled by Germanic chieftain. Roads and bridges were left in disrepair and fields left untilled. Pirates and bandits made travel unsafe. Cities could not be maintained without goods from the farms, trade and business began to disappear. And Rome was no more in the West.

Answer 2

Nostradmus, a 14th century French scholar, said "plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose" (the more things change, the more they stay the same). History often DOES repeat itself, but that does not mean that history MUST or in fact WILL repeat itself - the future is unwritten - and since so much has happened throughout history, it is an open question as to which circumstances throughout history are the ones most likely to be repeated today.

When considering the USA, sooner or later everthing must end. It seems reasonable to assume that eventually America's pre-eminent position as the world's foremost power will end - however this is more reasonable to expect to see a gradual process as other nations become more powerful alongside America than it is to expect a "fall" in one terrible moment.

Don't forget that Rome was about 1000 years old when the western part of the empire fell - and the eastern half of the empire continued on until a Moslem Turkish conquest one thousand more years after that - in 1453 - all in all the Roman experience lastest 2,300 years - and in virtually all this time there were turmoils and crises that seemed to overwhelm the people in their day, yet they muddled along.

What you can expect to see during your life time is the gradual shift from a unipolar world where America reigns supreme to a multipolar world where other powers such as China, Russia, possibly a more or less unified Europe, gain more power and influence over world affairs. Other powers will gain strength regionally, such as Iran and India and Brazil. This is not necessarily a bad thing - eventually the discontents of the world will find other people besides America to blame for their troubles, and the Great Satin will no longer be everyone's whipping boy.

Answer 3

History does "repeat" itself because we find it inconvenient to learn the lessons it has to teach us. As far as a "fall" is concerned, we share that not just with Rome but just about every culture & civilization throughout human history. Civilizations seem to have a "life cycle" of sorts, they undergo stages of youth, middle age & senescence. If you want to know if this country is going to "fall", just study our history since the end of WW2, we've been on that slope for over 60 years now!

Answer 4

A country is falling when another country becomes stronger.European Union ,China ,India.Big countries ,large populations ,deeply rooted civilizations ,highly educated people and financially strong or rising.As a European ,i hope the strongest will be the European Union.
But it won't be the USA -not for long.

Answer 5

No civilization lasts forever, even ours. If we keep up the way we're going now, it will be sooner, not later. We are already restricting the freedoms the Constitution granted to us in the name of security, and the country which trades freedom for security will soon lose both.

Answer 6

History repeats itself because people are generally the same regardless of place or time. People create societies and countries, so often the same mistakes are made.
It's not necessarily that there are too many people or the size of nations, it's the waste and the desire to keep to oneself all that you can get ahold of.

Sad, but true.

Answer 7

The rise of the American Empire (if you truly say there is one) does not truly follow the Roman model (and arguably the Roman one still exists because the Roman Catholic Church - its most enduring institution - is still around). Even if we are - we have not yet hit our zenith and we would still have hundreds of years to go before our collapse.

Answer 8

If we fall, I look forward to dragging the world down with us. It may happen, but the world wide depression will make the 30's look like the good old days.

Answer 9

I DONT THINK YOU CAN COMPARE THE TWO TO BE HONEST.ROME WAS A CITY BUILT ON DICTATORSHIP AND CRUSHING ALL WHO OPPOSED IT.THE US IS DEMOCRATIC AND BELIEVES IN FREEDOM ALTHOUGH WE NEED TO THINK MORE OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND BECOME GREEN AND RECYCLE MORE.LESS EMISSIONS WILL BE GOOD FOR OUR CHILDREN

Answer 10

No doubt at all