News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:The Fate of Rome by labster on Friday September 02, 2022 @12:30AM (#32686608)
Honestly to me the USA seems to be closer to 79 BC than 180 AD. After a close call, we have a few good years as a republic yet, and are far more powerful than our peer competitors. American influence is expanding right now.
Re:The Fate of Rome by Fuzzwah on Friday September 02, 2022 @12:44AM (#32686685)
I've been considering the similarity to the Gracchi brothers in ~170BC
Re:The Fate of Rome by thom on Friday September 02, 2022 @03:23AM (#32687661)
A little later than that (Tiberius was killed in 133 BC). There are definitely parallels here, especially the deep-seated violent reaction the US has to socialism at home or abroad. The same is largely true in the UK where the entire institutional apparatus of government and the media seemed to activate against Jeremy Corbyn.

Michael Parenti does a good job of painting the crises of the first century BC (with some mentions of the Gracchi) as a class struggle in his People’s History of Ancient Rome.

Re:The Fate of Rome by anticodon on Friday September 02, 2022 @03:02AM (#32687516)
> American influence is expanding right now.

This is an excellent example of wishful thinking. American influence is clearly shrinking. Just one example: when Biden went on a tour to oil-producing countries to ask them to increase oil production, every single country either ignored him or agreed to make homeopatic scale increase (which was presented as a huge win by US media).

Re:The Fate of Rome by WastingMyTime89 on Friday September 02, 2022 @03:24AM (#32687673)
> are far more powerful than our peer competitors

Are you?

Americans like to repeat that and certainly believe it but is it still as true as it was?

It’s probably still true military but in term of influence the USA is less relevant by the day. You weren’t very successful at convincing developing countries to sanction Russia for exemple.

Re:The Fate of Rome by qwytw on Friday September 02, 2022 @07:20AM (#32689299)
>weren’t very successful at convincing developing countries to sanction Russia for exemple

Arguably US was even weaker in that regard during the cold war. E.g. the response to the invasion of Czechoslovakia was much weaker in every regard. Granted there weren't many soviet billionaires to sanction but sending weapons there would have been inconceivable (especially on this scale)

Re:The Fate of Rome by throwaway6734 on Friday September 02, 2022 @05:34AM (#32688668)
Yes.

The US is one of the largest producers of oil, a large exporter of food, and a large exporter of tech.

None of those sticks were used against developing countries to get them to sanction Russia because currently there's no need

Re:The Fate of Rome by kyleee on Friday September 02, 2022 @04:50AM (#32688320)
how much less relevant by the day?
Re:The Fate of Rome by pclmulqdq on Friday September 02, 2022 @12:52AM (#32686732)
I think you could make a strong argument for "end of the republic" too, but I would put us further along than that. Personally, I give the US less than 10 years (three more presidential elections) to enter an open civil war.