Lawrence Lessig’s Republic Lost documents the corrosive effect of money on our political process˳ Lessig persuasively makes the case that we are witnessing the loss of our republican form of government, as politicians increasingly represent those who fund their campaigns, rather than our citizens˳
Anthony Everitt’s Rise of Rome is fascinating history and a great read˳ It tells the story of ancient Rome, from its founding (circa 750 BCE) to the fall of the Roman Republic (circa 45 BCE)˳
When read together, striking parallels emerge – between our failings and the failings that destroyed the Roman Republic˳ As with Rome just before the Republic’s fall, America has seen:
1 – Staggering Increase in the Cost of Elections, with Dubious Campaign Funding Sources: Our 2012 election reportedly cost $3 billion˳ All of it was raised from private sources – often creating the appearance, or the reality, that our leaders are beholden to special interest groups˳ During the late Roman Republic, elections became staggeringly expensive, with equally deplorable results˳ Caesar reportedly borrowed so heavily for one political campaign, he feared he would be ruined, if not elected˳
2 – Politics as the Road to Personal Wealth: During the late Roman Republic period, one of the main roads to wealth was holding public office, and exploiting such positions to accumulate personal wealth˳ As Lessig notes: Congressman, Senators and their staffs leverage their government service to move to private sector positions – that pay three to ten times their government compensation˳ Given this financial arrangement, “Their focus is therefore not so much on the people who sent them to Washington˳ Their focus is instead on those who will make them rich˳” (Republic Lost)
3 – Continuous War: A national state of security arises, distracting attention from domestic challenges with foreign wars˳ Similar to the late Roman Republic, the US – for the past 100 years – has either been fighting a war, recovering from a war, or preparing for a new war: WW I (1917-18), WW II (1941-1945), Cold War (1947-1991), Korean War (1950-1953), Vietnam (1953-1975), Gulf War (1990-1991), Afghanistan (2001-ongoing), and Iraq (2003-2011)˳ And, this list is far from complete˳
4 – Foreign Powers Lavish Money/Attention on the Republic’s Leaders: Foreign wars lead to growing influence, by foreign powers and interests, on the Republic’s political leaders – true for Rome and true for us˳ In the past century, foreign embassies, agents and lobbyists have proliferated in our nation’s capital˳ As one specific example: A foreign businessman donated $100 million to Bill Clinton’s various activities˳ Clinton “opened doors” for him, and sometimes acted in ways contrary to stated American interests and foreign policy˳
5 – Profits Made Overseas Shape the Republic’s Internal Policies: As the fortunes of Rome’s aristocracy increasingly derived from foreign lands, Roman policy was shaped to facilitate these fortunes˳ American billionaires and corporations increasingly influence our elections˳ In many cases, they are only nominally American – with interests not aligned with those of the American public˳ For example, Fox News is part of international media group News Corp˳, with over $30 billion in revenues worldwide˳ Is Fox News’ jingoism a product of News Corp˳’s non-U˳S˳ interests?
6 – Collapse of the Middle Class: In the period just before the Roman Republic’s fall, the Roman middle class was crushed – destroyed by cheap overseas slave labor˳ In our own day, we’ve witnessed rising income inequality, a stagnating middle class, and the loss of American jobs to overseas workers who are paid less and have fewer rights˳
7 – Gerrymandering: Rome’s late Republic used various methods to reduce the power of common citizens˳ The GOP has so effectively gerrymandered Congressional districts that, even though House Republican candidates received only about 48 percent of the popular vote in the 2012 election – they ended up with the majority (53 percent) of the seats˳
8 – Loss of the Spirit of Compromise: The Roman Republic, like ours, relied on a system of checks and balances˳ Compromise is needed for this type of system to function˳ In the end, the Roman Republic lost that spirit of compromise, with politics increasingly polarized between Optimates (the rich, entrenched elites) and Populares (the common people)˳ Sound familiar? Compromise is in noticeably short supply in our own time also˳ For example, “There were more filibusters between 2009 and 2010 than there were in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s combined˳”
As Benjamin Franklin observed, we have a Republic – but only if we can keep it˳
