Can we gain insight into the
societal collapse of the Roman Empire?
As preppers, we should pay attention to what is happening in our world. Not only should we pay attention to the current attitudes and beliefs, but it is advantageous for us to try and see patterns and forecast what things might “look-like” in case a societal collapse is in our future. A future where we might find ourselves and most definitely, our children will find themselves in.
When many people think about The Roman Empire, flashes of greatness come to mind. Many think of all the advances that came from Rome, the architecture, the political system, etc… But Rome, like every society, collapsed and fell.
The societal collapse and demise of the Roman Empire is something that should be very interesting to modern man. Could we learn from the mistakes of this huge empire? Could we learn so we don’t repeat the same mistakes?
Of course, my interest in the Fall of the Roman Empire is due to my desire to understand and observe the signs that are apparent as we look back at what caused this great empire to fall.
Read a previous article – The United States – The New Rome?
There are plenty of historical documents and research done on the societal collapse of the Roman Empire. You could spend your lifetime researching this topic. I would like to share a video from The History Channel’s series on The Roman Empire. This episode specifically deals with the Fall of the Roman Empire.
Watching Societal Collapse
The Fall of Rome really picks up starting in 190 A.D., after the murder of Commodus, a crazy emperor who fought as a gladiator and walked the streets of Rome dressed as Hercules.
Some of the takeaways are:
- Civil war broke out as armies wanted to have their general installed as Emperor. This weakened the army.
- The Empire had become unmanageable. It had become too big.
- Political power was in too few hands.
- Rome had turned its back on the common man. The elite were isolated from the poor.
- Games kept people occupied. At one point, there were games 170 days out the year. It was an entertainment-based culture.
- Resentment from other nations that Rome had conquered was very real. Other nations hated Rome.
- Barbarian migration towards the West put pressure on Empire’s resources.
- Rome needed to build and maintain a huge army. This strained the economy.
- As a result, Romans were taxed heavily and inflation ensued.
- Government just became too big!
- Rome was not flexible in compromising with non-Romans. They were arrogant.
Some people who read the above and watch the video below will see many similarities to the current state of affairs of The United States. Many won’t want to see the similarities.
For the prepper, we need to stay aware of what is happening in our country and world and decide what that means for our families and loved ones. Will we see the signs of societal collapse before us or will we be entertained into a sleepy unawareness?
Watch the video below and share your thoughts in the comments.
Peace,
Todd
This article first appeared on Ed That Matters.
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Todd Sepulveda
I'm the owner/editor of Prepper Website, a DAILY preparedness aggregator that links to the best preparedness articles on the internet. I'm also a public school administrator and a pastor. My personal blog is Ed That Matters, where I write about preparedness and from time to time, education. Connect with me on one of my social media outlets below.
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well done…the simple fact that the first and the last were Romeilious wow, pure irony. while I enjoy this I also see a see of the US in this. wars, conquest, ignoring complaints, and many other idioms of comparisons, but there is one thing that is lacking in this comparison. this is the fact that we have the ability to see the past and change the present. but the big question is will we? and a like question is this…if we do see, and decide to change…will it be in time to forestall the collapse of our current society?…in short, as I look at this and see shadows of ourselves…I ask myself this question.. SHOULD this occur…will I have enough provisions, in hand, to the point of being able to RE-START a mini-civilization in my small world? AND will it be sufficient to allow the continuation of my family?
Mr. Sepulveda, excellent comparative essay. My only note would be something I’ve considered and talked over with buddies. Rome…. though the most sophisticated and civilized entity at the time (barring the Far East perhaps) was still pre-industrialization and pre-technical as today’s world currently is ‘post-‘ both of those descriptions. They had less distance to fall when they reverted back to a more primitive level. Lessons did not have to be relearned so much. Many, if not most, people were already living at a subsistence or literally handicraft level of supply and demand. Now, today? The vast majority of citizens in this country wouldn’t, don’t, have a clue how to survive in a basic manner. Sure, all ‘we’ preppers think we do; but, most rural folks have a good laugh at that. We’ve a lot farther distance to fall is my point.
Good points. I do think that those who came from more affluent lifestyles in Rome had further to fall though. Their lives had become so decadent.
Peace,
Todd