The Storm Before The Storm

[The Grand Nudger]

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

[The Grand Nudger]

Cultural, Boru, cultural.  

Did you read through the interview, one of the best from them in awhile...and they have alot of good stuff.

[Jackie]

[Whateverist]

Maybe the solution is to recognize acquisition in the 100's of millions of dollars as a disease. These people need an intervention. I'll go sharpen the guillotines.

[Pat Mustard]

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Did you read through the interview

Of course I didn't read it.  I don't come to AF to learn anything, fer Chrissakes.  I come here to pounce on trivial mistakes like a starving ocelot on a distracted mouse.  Thank you.

Boru

[vorlon13]

Reg: All right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?

Attendee: Brought peace?

Reg: Oh, peace - shut up!

Reg: There is not one of us who would not gladly suffer death to rid this country of the Romans once and for all.

[Minimalist]

He's spot on until right here.

They’re going to be tenant owners or sharecroppers and it has a really corrosive effect on the traditional ways of economic life and political life.

He left out the part where the owners of the latifundia brought in massive amounts of slave labor to work their newly acquired lands.  The displaced Roman farmers, who not only provided the food for the city but also were classed based on their wealth into the various divisions of the republic's army ( hastati, principes, triari, equites, ) were the backbone of the force.  Generally, the displaced farmers drifted into the city and became the urban mob.  Politically there had been serious rifts between the patrician and plebian classes since virtually the founding of the republic but in the aftermath of the fall of Carthage and Corinth ( both in 146 BC).  Within 20 years the Gracchi brothers were leading the populist movement calling for land reform and although both were murdered by Patrician thugs the process continued on until Caesar defeated Pompey.

When I have time tonight I'll have to read the whole thing.

[The Grand Nudger]

I think he alludes to that in a tiny blip about that particular problem not being solved until they effectively disappeared as a class.  It seems like a hell of an omission..since it would only further highlight parralels to our current situation, in which more easily exploitable classes are the preferred form of labor....and only if the postage to get a product to our doors is too great if it;s shipped from a country with virtual or actual slave labor.