"Rome's collapse was the forerunner of the debt crises, economic polarization and austerity caused by subsequent Western oligarchies. The West's pro-creditor laws and ideology inherited from Rome make repeated debt crises transferring control of property and government to financial oligarchies inevitable. Classical antiquity's great transition to the modern world lay in replacing kingship not with democracies but with oligarchies having a pro-creditor legal philosophy. That philosophy permits creditors to draw wealth, and thereby political power, into their own hands, without regard for restoring economic balance and long-term viability as occurred in the Ancient Near East through Clean Slates. Rome's legacy to subsequent Western civilization is thus the structure of creditor oligarchies, not democracy in the sense of social structures and policies that promote widespread prosperity." -- Back cover
Bibliographic references
Includes bibliographical references (pages 437-466) and indexes.
Contents
How interest-bearing debt was brought to Greece and Italy, 8th century BC
I. Greece. Reformers cancel debts and redistribute land, 7th and 6th centuries BC
Sparta's oligarchy defers an early political crisis, 6th century BC
Solon bans debt slavery in Athens, 594 BC
From democracy to the thirty tyrants, 508-404 BC
Public finance, from temples to oligarchs
Plato, Aristophanes and Aristotle on money-lust, 4th century BC
Agis, Cleomenes and Nabis cancel Sparta's debts, 3rd century BC
II. Rome. From Rome's takeoff to the patrician coup, 753-509 BC
Secession of the plebs and broken patrician promises, 495-471 BC
The twelve tables and struggle for debt reform, 462-390 BC
New revolts lead to the banning of debt slavery, 390-287 BC
The Punic Wars end with a financial land grab, 218-198 BC
Rome's Empire enriches its financial oligarchy, 2nd century BC
Revolts against and within Rome lead to financial crisis, 91-86 BC
The Mithridatic Wars against Roman creditors, 88-63 BC
Rome's land and debt crisis, from Sulla to Catiline, 83-62 BC
From Cato and Cicero to Pompey and Caesar, 65-49 BC
Caesar's moderate debt and land legislation, 49-44 BC
The Empire's fiscal squeeze ad monetary shortage, 1st to 3rd centuries AD
III. Epilogue. Rome's end time leads the church to ban usury, 4th century AD
Romanized Christianity supports the oligarchy, 4th and 5th centuries AD
Roman history and modern ideology.
ISBN
9783949546129 (pbk.)
3949546111
9783949546112
394954612X (pbk.)
OCLC
1375539646
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