What caused the world’s great republics to fall—and what their fate reveals about the dangers facing modern democracies today.
A lot can be said about how history might inform current events and the chaotic state of affairs in which we find ourselves. Such is precisely the thrust of Thomas F. Madden’s new book entitled ‘The Fall of Republics: A History from Ancient Carthage to the American Constitution,’ an examination of the surprisingly short list of enduring governmental entities conceived and implemented since humans first appeared on planet Earth – in one form or another – over one million years ago. Homo sapiens, who used tools and language and were capable of abstract thought, date back around three hundred thousand years. For most of that time, our species survived as hunter-gatherers in small bands or tribes, without much formal government.
A key reason that Homo sapiens triumphed over faster and tougher predators has as much to do with the ability to cooperate as it does with intelligence. However, it wasn’t until the adoption of agriculture some five thousand years ago that urban centers emerged, along with new social classes that enabled specialization in areas such as science, religion, arts, and warfare. Another important feature of human society consisted of the formation of bureaucratic governments in response to fears of starvation and predation – with the latter threat emanating from both animals as well as other peoples. Madden argues that these fears drive and sustain governments to this day.
The book begins with the ending, so to speak, with a concise discussion of how the American Framers of the Constitution worked to establish a durable republic. The study by John Adams in particular, his publication of ‘Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America’ in 1787 – now largely forgotten – provoked intellectuals and statesmen on both sides of the Atlantic to take a more systematic look at how men craft governmental structures. His three-volume set sought to understand which ones persist over time and which perish in relatively short order.
The aspiration to create a strong government protecting the rights of its people, the Framers of the Constitution firmly believed, was dependent on the value of a classical education, which instructs individuals in the wide canvas of history dating back centuries – something that was comparatively commonplace in the 1700s among the schooled, both formal and informal. All of that has changed, given the lack of deep understanding of antiquity among most folks in the U.S. Consequently, modern society pays a price for that lack of knowledge.
For most of five thousand years of relatively formal governance, monarchy (king, tyrant, emperor, ruler, etc.) has been the most typical form. Autocratic rule tended to combine military might and religious justification to hold onto power. These arrangements often worked well for a period of time, but eventually the leader died and had to be replaced. Though some successors maintained competent governance, sooner or later things went awry through corruption, incompetence, and chronic societal inequality. Whether rule by one (monarchy, tyranny), rule by few (aristocracy, oligarchy), or rule by many (polity, democracy), each system eventually degraded.
Greek political philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, and Polybius pondered these issues extensively using evidence from centuries past to gain perspective. Others since, including Cicero, Machiavelli, Sansovino, and, of course, John Adams, concluded that the only way to avoid inevitable decay was to employ a mixed-government republic that provides for competition among the three forms: the one, the few, and the many. By forcing the three simple forms of government to compete and cooperate for the benefit of the larger society, freedom inclines toward maximization, and each faction is checked by the other two. It is the exploration of these types of earlier governments that comprise the bulk of ‘The Fall of Republics.’
Over the centuries, only a handful of republics have lasted a century or longer. These include Sparta, Carthage, Rome, Venice, and the United States, among very few others. Madden does a fine job of serving up detailed, engaging case studies of these successful republics over the brief history of large-scale human civilizations. Beyond that, however, they might also prove insightful for today’s policymakers and politicians, if only they would take the time to read about the ups and downs of representative democracies. The author concludes that overcoming corrupted institutions requires an educated, committed citizenry that understands its system of government and the dangers it faces. Otherwise, it risks descending into anarchy, which first takes the form of mob rule and ultimately leads to the favored populist solution of autocracy.
In the final pages, Madden postulates what true breaks in the American Republic might look like in the years ahead. Given recent developments, it’s hard to believe that we’re not already pretty far down that road, but Madden disagrees. Possible examples include the use of paramilitary forces or illegal actions by government officials that run contrary to Supreme Court rulings – both of which seem a hair’s breadth away, at best, given the repressive actions of ICE and the executive branch flouting high court decisions. Other red flags, such as the capture and execution of so-called traitors, haven’t actually happened yet, but political entities certainly seem willing to move in that direction. At the end of the day, if the United States is going to avoid the fate of previously failed republics, the foundational virtue of reverence for the rule of law – in addition to the previously mentioned emotion of fear from starvation and external threats – must become part of the American psyche once again. As things stand now, only time will tell in which direction the country goes.
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