Ancient Rome and Modern America

Listen to "Ancient Rome and Modern America"

Historians referenced in the episode: Gibbons, Vegetius, Bark, Toynbee, Ward-Perkins, Heather, McNeill, Bury
Comparisons between the fall of Rome and America now:

• Military Conquest
• Rome: Conquest by Germans under Odoacer
  
• Loss of Identity
• Rome: Germanization of Army and empire
• America: Hispanic Immigration boom into army and country
• Loss of Unity
• Rome: Eastern and Western Roman Empires
• America: Country vs. City, Democrat vs. Republican
• Loss of Economic Strength
• Rome: Lack of gold, lack of exportable goods, income disparity
  
• America: Outsourcing, economic decline, income disparity
• Loss of Military Strength
• Rome: Overextension, Middle East problem
• America: Overextension, Iraq
• Loss of Population
• Rome: Plague, Lead Poisoning
• America: Avian Flu, Obesity
• Loss of Environmental Security
• Rome: Salinization of North Africa
• America: Lack of oil security, global warming
• Loss of Civic Virtue:
• Rome: Laziness
  

This is purely an informational episode. I am not trying to persuade anybody or make any generalizations or make any predictions about the future. I am trying to support famous claims, but this does not mean that these claims are foolproof. Feel free to comment with your opinions.

For more information, read:
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbons
http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/romefallarticles/a/fallofrome.htm
2007 World Almanac
Vanity Fair (October 2006): Empire Falls

Military History Podcast is sponsored by Armchair General Magazine and the International Research and Publishing Corporation