Does This Sound Familiar?

Gerard Del Re, from his book History’s Last Stand:

“The events that led up to the fall of Imperial Rome can be traced to several factors.

1. Agriculture declined as farmers found it unprofitable to plant, flocking instead to the cities, where they became wards of the state.

2. Heavy taxes to support wars left citizens with less to spend, causing businesses to fold; hence, prosperity declined.

3. Jobless men could no longer afford matrimony, and this factor, coupled with a high abortion rate, resulted in a falling birth rate.

4. Political disinterest on the part of the citizenry led to poor leadership.

5. The moral fabric of the society began to tear apart as degenerating spectacles in the arena occupied the minds of the unemployed masses.

Finally, Rome became dependent on foreigners, often subjugated peoples, to defend its borders and to fight its wars as fewer Romans were available for conscription. Foreigners obviously had no true ties to the motherland.”