[TheBlack_knight]

I resist the comparisons between accent Rome and our current culture, but sometimes the insights are intuitive.

… Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses

Once a society becomes advanced many comforts become available, it seems to happen that we forgot just how it is we got there. There is an economic theory that goes something like, every generation or two needs a great war so that those who survive come back home with a sense of purpose. And those individuals work to advance society. The next generation perhaps becomes more immersed in the culture and uninterested in advancing knowledge or economic gains. Stagnation sets in again.