The Past Is A Most Addictive Thing

A lovely city, it attracts millions of visitors annually with its charming piazzas, numerous archaeological treasures, outstanding museums, inviting sidewalk cafés and dolce vita vibe. This was Western Europe’s first imperial power, known as Caput Mundi (Capital of the World) and Roma Aeterna (Eternal City). At its pinnacle, Rome controlled approximately 2.5 million square miles (6.5 million km²) of land, encompassing England, all of continental Europe west of the Rhine and south of the Danube, most of Asia west of the Euphrates, northern Africa, and the islands of the Mediterranean, an area equivalent to 2/3 the size of the US.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and its early days are murky at best. Most have heard the tale of the twins Romulus and Remus who were set adrift in a basket on the river Tiber and rescued by a she-wolf who suckled the boys. Later, Romulus would kill Remus and found Rome, naming it after himself. Not coincidentally, similar stories are told about other famous figures such as Moses, the Persian king Cyrus the Great, and Oedipus, to name a few. In other words, these tales are not true or, in current parlance, they are alternative facts.

With or without wolf-fed Romulus, Rome was founded in the mid-8th century BC and, until the collapse of the Western Empire in 476 A.D., Rome went from a monarchy to a Republic to an Empire. The monarchy, where an elected king held lifetime power and final authority in all executive, legislative, judicial, military and religious matters, lasted 2.5 centuries and fell when king Tarquin the Proud (a tyrant who murdered his predecessor, usurped the throne, terrorized the Senate and oppressed the people) was either overthrown by popular uprising or suffered a military defeat.

The government system that followed, the Republic, was designed to safeguard Rome against the rule of one individual by dividing power among three pillars: two consuls, the Senate and popular assemblies. In theory, an excellent setup but, in practice, the Senate, supposed to be only an advisory body, was mostly filled with patricians (aristocrats) and wielded enormous influence. Over time, power became increasingly concentrated in the hands of a wealthy few, with a sizeable gap between the standard of living of the common people and the aristocracy. Tensions grew and the resulting unrest led to the collapse of the republic and the rise of the empire following the murder of Julius Caesar who, by the way, had taken Rome by force and declared himself dictator for life.

Octavian, Julius Caesar’s great nephew and political heir, rose to power by defeating rivals, appointing provincial governors loyal to him, purging unreliable senators and replacing them with his supporters. In the government system that he established, an emperor held power for life and had control over all aspects of government. Granted the title of Augustus or “Lofty”, he was a de-facto dictator but hid his powers behind the institutions of the Republic, which he kept in place. Luckily for Rome, Octavian was an accomplished politician and commander, and his reign was marked by decline in crime and unrest, prosperity, and advances in engineering, architecture and arts. Subsequent emperors, for the most part, were no match (just think of Caligula or Nero, for instance), and a combination of constant wars, widening economic gap between the wealthy and the masses, corruption and lack of consistent leadership eventually led to the fall of the Roman Empire in the late 5th century. Rome’s influence is felt to this day, in politics (the Roman Republic led to modern democracy, with many contemporary governments modeled after it), culture (language and architecture), religion (Christianity), engineering (aqueducts, and use of concrete). These lasting contributions are a testament to Rome’s greatness.

Centuries later, a man decided that he was destined to make Italy great again. His name was Mussolini. After founding the Fascist Party following WWI and terrorizing opponents, he became prime minister in 1922, soon dismantling democratic institutions, banning free press and other political parties, and making himself dictator. In the early 1930s, the worldwide economic depression hit Italy, bringing mounting discontent. In 1935, to divert attention from internal struggles, Mussolini pushed for a “New Roman Empire” and invaded…Ethiopia! After aligning himself with Hitler and determined “to make war at any cost”, he suffered a series of defeats in Africa and the Balkans. In the end, all he accomplished was to make Italy sink again.

Mussolini followed the demagogue’s playbook: sow fear, create an enemy to rail against, and offer oneself as the all-knowing strong leader, the one who alone can fix it. These so-called “strong leaders” have more their own ambitions in sight than the interests of their country. They promise greatness, often evoking some glorious past and scapegoating those who do not subscribe to their view or foreign “enemies”. They offer an easy answer - trust me and I’ll make your troubles go away. And we, with our short memories and hunger for quick fixes, fall for it over and over and over and over again. History shows us that believing in easy answers is one of the greatest dangers to democracy. Because, in the words of Voltaire, “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities”.