Ancient Rome
And they are working, and working!! Rome finally decided to have a third subway, “Linea C”; differs from the first two lines, because it will not reach the borders of the city, but going through its heart. It will cross the Vatican, the Chiesa Nuova on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, the Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum. You can imagine yourself what kind of problems are raising. Going through the centre!!! And as soon you start digging, there are archeological remains everywhere. They say it will become the most beautiful subway in the world, exposing in its different stations the artifacts they found.
What was the function of those “fora” dedicated to the various rulers? Especially when you have “the Forum” next to it. Privatization meant in the empire, and shortly before, that every job is for sale on the auction. In a certain way, the main function of those areas dedicated to emperors was for fundraising. You want to become emperor, or just succeed your father as emperor? Nothing as easy as that: do fundraising. That became day after day more important after the reform of the Gracchi Brothers. Actually, there is no big difference between the roman system and the today election of a president of the USA. Obama won over his rivals by outspending them, and forced poor Hillary Clinton to use her good money in Clinton-states. And there was no money anymore left for her to campaign in the swing-states, let alone in republican states. McCain on his turn was lost over the question of public funding or not. When it for Obama became clear that he could raise more money with private funding, he abolished the idea of public funding. More about that in the The Vatican Museum. But what Obama put in the mind of people was the idea that someone who hardly can run a smooth campaign, wouldn’t be able to run the biggest economy in the world.
The same happened in the Roman empire. You want to become Emperor?
Do fundraising. Let us say you needed 400 million denarii for your campaign. After winning the elections you have to please your investors and shareholders, (Big electors ??) with interest. So, once emperor, your are selling the function of governor on the auction. And say the auctions starts at 20 million denarii. Someone offered 25 million, a third one 30 million and so on. Let say the last bid was 40 million. And when the hammer came down, he won the auction. In a similar way Herodes Atticus became the governor of Greece, being one of the wealthiest of his time. And what he has to do ? ... simply enough: fundraising. He had to find 40 million denarii and to pay it in Rome before leaving to his province. Twenty governors at 40 million, made 800 million for the emperor, who got his money back with interest. As a governor in Greece he had to make his lost good. At least, there he could rule as semi-king. A small part of what the province produced was for Rome, the rest (including the looting) for himself and his shareholders. But you can imagine him thinking that he was that stupid to indulge himself to pay so much money, while the auction only started at 20 million denarii. This didn’t change his composure and sleep. Arriving in the province, he looked for 200 tax-collectors, starting the auction at 200 000 denarii each. And .... the money came back with interest. If the taxcollector couldn’t find his money back, that isn’t the problem of the governor. If the governor can’t find his money back, that isn’t a problem for the emperor. Taxes were paid in advance. This is also the reason that in the gospels the tax-collector Zacheus/Mattheus is not loved by the people. As tax-collector he wanted his investment back, and with interest. When Jesus told him to give back what he stole, he replied: “I have no idea what I took!”, on which Jesus replied: “Seven times seven” or 49 %. Was that the amount he added? probably yes. It seems to me it was a lucrative job in the Roman Empire to buy your job. But even today: those who are entering in politics are doing it for saving the country, isn’t it? And look at the scandals of the U.K. parliament. Ponds got cleaned by the taxpayer money, a second house and mortgage in the capital, ... again the taxpayer. But isn’t the roman system not genius? Taxes are paid in advance. The government doesn’t have to run behind unwillingly taxpayers! It also created the welfare-state of Rome. Roman citizens didn’t have to pay taxes. The rest of the world did it for them. Rome was really a tax heaven, just like Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Monaco or the off-shore Islands of Jersey today. Bernard Madoff, the banker of the Ponzi-scheme would like Rome very much indeed. The lowest levels paid the top. And as long you are creating new territory and provinces, you get away with it. The problem arrived when the system started shrinking, and brought it to it’s decline. It also explains that what you will see in Rome, you will also find in the province, ... only in Rome it’s bigger. Copies of the Colosseum, baths, temples etc., but smaller. Herodes Atticus built an amphitheater at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, the Odeon, still in use today. It was used for the opening-ceremony of the last Olympic Games in Greece. It’s identical to what was built in Rome, just smaller. Of course, in the Ponzi-scheme, the biggest fundraiser is sitting in Rome. He only built an amphitheater on the scale of a governor and not on the scale of an emperor. The same, but much smaller again, for max. 3000 people, you will find in smaller cities, because only built with the budget of the major. Cicero was governor in Spain for one term only. He was known as a good, rightful and honest governor. That’s what you call in Rome a stupid one! Your task as governor is not being good or honest, but to loot as much as possible in the shortest time and paying your sponsors back with interest! It seems to me indeed that the privatization of public offices was part of the growth of Rome ... and as we will see later, it’s decline when the system started shrinking.
A monument that show you the decline of Rome: the arch of Constantine
Probably the best preserved arch of Ancient Rome. The arch commemorates the victory of Constantine over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in AD 312 for sole control of the Roman empire in the west. His problems with Maxentius
Usefull links
Introduction to the Vatican Museum
A Renaissance Museum: Plato and Aristotle
The Pinacoteca - the Painting Gallery
Rooms of Raphael