SIMON BARBER: Lessons from Roman republic on autocratic control
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18 November 2024 - 05:00
The Roman republic died when the Roman people tired of their corrupt ruling class.
The populus fell in love with class traitor Julius Caesar. He at least pretended to love it back. So the elite murdered him just as he was about to make Rome great again. Enter his avenging grandnephew, Octavian, who, over the ensuing decade, would bring the elite to heel and, with the enthusiastic blessing of the populus, take autocratic control of the state...
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