A Series of Inconvenient Truths Are Bring Down the West

By: Dr. Patrick D. Huff, A review of the video titled; Like, With Rome, Inflation Is Bringing Down the West, Maneco64, published December 6, 2022, 837 words, 5 minute read.

Keywords: #Economic, #Monetary System, #Ethics, Morality, Leadership, Government, Stability, Peace, Representation

"Formerly, says Ammianus, Rome was saved by her austerity, by solidarity between rich and poor, by contempt for death; now she is undone by her luxury and greed. Innumerable are the statements of Church Fathers that stigmatize the immorality of both the nobles and the poor. Salvianus backs up Ammianus by affirming that greed (avaritia) is a vice common to nearly all Romans". (A. Poganiol)

Perhaps this statement can now be used in describing the socio-economic and political environments represented in the West.

8 Reasons Why Rome Fell – A Complex Answer

1.??????Invasions by Barbarian tribes. The empire that lasted from roughly 625 BC to 476 AD fell in 410 AD to the Visigoths, who successfully sacked the city of Rome. The empire spent the next several decades under constant threat. Vandals continually raided it. In 476 AD, the Germanic leader Odoacer deposed the Roman emperor.

2.??????Economic troubles and overreliance on slave labor. Rome was suffering a severe financial crisis. Constant wars and overspending left the treasury empty. Heavy taxation, devaluation of their currency (coinage or monetary system), and inflation continued to impoverish the population, which formed a barrier to open trade and commerce. As a result, many wealthy Romans fled to the countryside and established independent fiefdoms. By the second century, the empire could no longer expand its territory. Moreover, the empire did not have enough laborers. Contributing to the economic problems was that they could not locate a new source of enslaved people or cheap labor to support the economic system.

3.??????The rise of the Eastern Empire in the late third century. The two halves of the empire often quarreled over resources and military aid. As a result, the largely Greek-speaking Eastern Empire grew wealth while the Latin-speaking West descended into an economic crisis. The Western political structure finally disintegrated in the fifth century, while the Eastern Empire functioned for another thousand years.

4.??????Overexpansion and military overspending. At its height, the Roman Empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates River in the Middle East. The empire faced administrative and logistical challenges with such a vast territory to govern. In addition, Rome struggled to enlist the required troops and resources to defend its frontiers from local rebellions and outside attacks.

5.??????Government corruption, political instability, and poor leaders. Ineffective and inconsistent leadership also weakened the empire. Civil war created chaos, with over 20 emperors over 75 years. The changes often occurred due to the murder of a reigning emperor.

6.??????The arrival of the Huns and the migration of the Barbarian tribes. The Huns invaded Europe in the late fourth century, leading to the migration of Barbarian tribes. As the Barbarians rampaged through northern Europe, many Germanic tribes took refuge on the borders of the Roman Empire. The Romans allowed these Visigoths into the safety of Roman territory but treated them with extreme cruelty. As a result, germanic tribes like the Vandals and the Saxons began to occupy Britain, Spain, and North Africa. Essentially, this represented a weakening or loss of nation-state border controls from foreign immigrants.

7.??????Christianity and the loss of traditional values. Christianity displaced the polytheistic Roman religion, which viewed the emperor as having a divine status. There was a shift in focus from the glory of the state to a single god.

8.??????Weakening of the Roman legions. Unable to recruit enough Roman citizens to serve as soldiers, Roman emperors hired foreign mercenaries to fill out their armies. These Germanic soldiers proved fierce warriors but had little loyalty to the empire. Instead, their loyalty was to their commanders and personal enrichment (financial gain), position, power, and authority. In summary, the professional (mercenary military) lacked the ability and commitment (will) to win wars.

Today, the West is suffering from (1) economic troubles, cheap labor shortages, availability and access to valued resources, (2) internal division and socio-political strife, (3) overexpansion of the military and related spending, (4) government corruption, political instability, and the absence of trust, (5) the loss of nation-state borders due to immigrants, (6) the loss of traditional values, and ethics, (7) the conversion of the military to a professional or mercenary force, poor leadership, and absent the core values that represent the people its serves.

Summarizing, perhaps the West is now suffering from seven of the eight symptoms or predictors of a total collapse. However, one should consider that this series of symptomatic failures took several decades to collapse the government of Rome. Somewhat surprisingly, the West is following this historical script. Therefore, it is highly probable that the outcome will be similar. Some historians suggest the Rome system survived as a prosperous republic for approximately 200 years, while others argue it did not fall until the middle of the 15th century. Given the present speed of globally transferred (digital) information, thought, and commerce, these factors and the associated timeline of destruction should be considered when assessing the duration of the western form of government, political, and socio-economic systems.

Submitted for your review and consideration as a thought experiment.?