Read the following quotes:
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form
of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote
themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority
always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public
treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal
policy, always followed by a dictatorship.”
“The average age of the world’s greatest
civilizations has been 200 years. Great nations rise and fall. The people go
from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty,
from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to
complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from
dependence back again to bondage.”
-Alex de Toqueville, 1831
Using your knowledge
of Roman history, explain how these quotes can apply to the rise and fall of
the Roman Republic, as well as to its ultimate transformation into an Empire
ruled by an all-powerful emperor.
Additionally, do you believe that the above quotes, and Roman history in
general for that matter, have any practical application or relationship to the
United States? Why or why not? Be sure to explain.
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