As a fan of the late Roman empire it's important to remember Roman history is very long compared to our county. A thousand or more years depending how you count. To compare early Etruscan influenced Rome to that of the late Roman period and Byzantine history is very difficult; they are completely different in a lot of ways. From the expulsion of the kings and the formation of the Republic, to the triumvirate and early Imperial age and finally to the Dominate or late Imperial (Christian) period. Transitions between these periods were marked with significant crises that changed the fundamental political operations of Rome.
I see America following these same evolutions. We had our revolution to expel the King and establish a Republic. The Civil War and crisis over slavery ended the early Republic period and ushered our final journey through the Industrial Revolution with waves of economic panics culminating in the Great Depression and World War II. That gave birth to the post war Pax America governed by Keynesian economics and eventually leading to the Civil Rights and ERA movements.
I can't help but think AI and the rise of the oligarchs isn't going to mark another transition in America's political structures. And where we ultimately go is yet to be determined.
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