How to Lose a Constitution—Lessons from Roman History

From Fee.org (Aug. 29):

The history of ancient Rome spans a thousand years—roughly 500 as a republic and 500 as an imperial autocracy, with the birth of Christ occurring almost precisely in the middle. The closest parallels between Roman and American civilizations are to be found in Rome’s first half-millennium as a republic. We in our day can derive the most instructive lessons from that period. The tyranny of the empire came after the republic was destroyed and that’s the truly awful consequence of decay that America can yet avoid.

Upon winning their freedom, Romans split the top position of power between two men—the consuls. One was to be a check upon the other and neither, except in emergency situations, was to serve more than one year. Legislative bodies—the Senate and assemblies of elected representatives—were established. Incidentally, the Senate was retained in name, though not in power, for the entire thousand years of Roman history. Even as freedom vanished, the later tyrants couldn’t quite bring themselves to abolish the symbols of republicanism. So if America ever loses its Republic, it wouldn’t be surprising if it kept its House and Senate. As in the case of Rome, our legislative bodies may even formally ratify the final extinction of the freedom they’ve been voting against for decades.

Let me share with you what I call, “The Three Most Stubborn Lessons of History,” and then I’ll go back and briefly relate each to the Roman Republic:

Number One: No people who lost their character kept their liberties.

Number Two: Power that is shackled and dispersed is preferable to power that is unrestrained and centralized.

Number Three: The here-and-now is rarely as important as tomorrow.

Now to the first of the three: No people who lost their character kept their liberties.

Character, as I am using the term, embodies the trait of virtue, which is from the Latin virtus, meaning courageous honesty. Above all, it was esteemed by the early Romans of the republic. It was routinely taught in the home by mothers and fathers. Indeed, all formal education took place in the home in the first two and a half centuries of the republic. Schools didn’t appear until the third century B.C. and even they did not receive government funding until well after the Republic faded.

I guess the lesson there is that government funding is not necessary for civilizational decline, but it can sure help it along.

Other traits of character stressed in early Rome were gravitas (dignity), continentia (self-discipline), industria (diligence), benevolentia (goodwill), pietas (loyalty and a sense of duty), and simplicitas (candor).

The connection between character and liberty is powerful. Liberty—by which I mean rule of law, respect for and protection of the lives, rights, property and contracts of others—is the only social arrangement that requires character. No other system, especially socialism, asks much of you other than to keep quiet, pay your taxes and go get yourself killed when the State so directs. The absence of character produces chaos and tyranny. Its presence makes liberty possible.

Rome rose from nothing and sustained itself as a great entity for centuries because of its strong character.

When Romans allowed the temptations of the welfare state to erode their character, when they abandoned responsibility, self-discipline, self-reliance and respect for the property of others and began to use government to rob Peter and pay Paul, they turned down a fateful, destructive path.

In the waning years of the Republic, a rogue named Clodius ran for the office of tribune. He bribed the electorate with promises of free grain at taxpayer expense and won. Thereafter, Romans in growing numbers embraced the notion that voting for a living could be more lucrative than working for one.

Candidates for Roman office spent huge sums to win public favor, then plundered the population afterwards to make good on their promises to the greedy mob that elected them. As the republic gave way to dictatorship, a succession of emperors built their power on the handouts they controlled. Nearly a third of the city of Rome received public relief payments by the time of Christ.

It’s frightening to consider how easily a sturdy people, when they let their guard and character down, can be bought and paid for by the welfare State. And once they sell themselves for that mess of pottage from politicians, it’s not impossible to turn back, but it’s not easy either. [read more]

Yea, his lessons are very true back then as today because the basic nature of man hasn’t changed that much.