There has always been a fascination with Rome among those who study American politics. The first self-described republic to have come down to us through the historical record, many writings of the Roman period have survived and paint a vivid picture of the social, political, and economic forces that gradually transformed Rome from Republic to Empire. Acutely aware of these writings, the Founders of the American experiment tried to set up a system that would not fall prone to the same ills that finally felled the nearly 800 year old governmental apparatus of its ancient forebearer. Despite their efforts, however, beneath the deception of cultural ornamentation and facade of time, the United States now finds itself facing nearly the exact convergence of revolutionary forces that pushed Roman society and politics bit by bit down the road to autocracy. The going was slow, and there were republican retrenchments, but ultimately the trend toward increasing authoritarianism proved inexorable. Follow as the dominant contemporary interconnected political, economic, and social currents are laid bare beside the earlier Roman example and shown to be shockingly alike: Wealth Inequality, Political and Social Norm Breaking, Loyalty to a Single leader rather than to the State or its Institutions, Divisive Domestic Politics, Identity Crisis, Labor Displacement, Elite Entrenchment, and many more. In the case of Rome, the massive multi-ethnic Republic was unable to overcome partisan gridlock to pass much needed reforms, and the revolutionary forces which had built up in the system exploded into a chaotic period of civil war which saw the average Roman crushed beneath the weight of successive hardships. The material and psychological cost was great, and the population that emerged from this life or death struggle found themselves perfectly willing to exchange their freedom for security. Will the United States follow their example, or can such an exemplar of Karl Popper's Open Society carry on successfully and stably into the 21st century?
