USA vs Imperial Rome

[Upper Canada Tory]

In a way one can argue that the Americans are much smarter and forward-thinking than the Romans, simply because the Americans are very sceptical of the system of government that the Romans allowed to take over - tyranny. The American system of government with its checks and balances is designed (ideally) to prevent that.

One can argue however, that the Roman Republic had this too but lost it due to its political norms breaking down. Many see parallels to this in the US, arguing that many Americans increasingly distrust and disvalue American democracy. Whether or not this is true is not for me to answer as I am not an expert on American public opinion.

Many factors led to the Roman Empire collapsing, some of these shared by the US and others not, while others may evolve over time. However, I think these are less important than the main differences between the US and Rome;

Firstly, liberal democracy is the founding ideology of the US while it not being the founding ideology of Rome (although it can be argued that the Roman monarchy was analogous to the British Empire, but I don't think so).

Secondly, the US' lucky geographic position and intricate network of geopolitical alliances, that of which Imperial Rome simply would not match. Part of Rome's fall was a result of foreign invasions, but the no one can really invade the US.

Thirdly, the US' large amount of sovereign territory and natural resources. in an industrialized world where this is important.

Fourthly, and I think this is the most important aspect, the US' human capital. Rome colonized areas, made the people there live as subjects, and sometimes made them slaves. The US has the most opportunities of any country in human history that everyone has (roughly) equal access to. There are 300 million people in the US who generally have equal rights and opportunities - maybe with some variety in how accessible those opportunities are, but almost anyone can do reasonably well in the US if they try. I think this is the main difference between Rome, because many people cite the level of inequality between the US and Imperial Rome as a common aspect and a warning of potential decline, but forget that the difference is that in the US you can move up the ladder of social stratification, while you really couldn't in Rome.