A New Regime

I used to wonder what it was like for those Romans who still remembered the old days of the republic after Octavius declared himself Princeps, or first citizen, and then, later, August. He was a clever emperor, and knew how to give the people what they thought they wanted, which was mainly Pax Augusta, peace and security after years of war and civil strife. He kept most of the trappings of the old republic: he let them have elections and he allowed the senate go on meeting. Most Romans seemed satisfied with the new regime. Besides, potential troublemakers, like Cicero, were all dead by then.

The new emperor was a reformer. He tightened up citizenship requirements, and set about improving Roman moral standards, strengthening the institution of marriage. He also tried to reform the tax system. And when the German tribes started causing trouble, he sent an army to invade them, taking the war to the enemy and pacifying the frontiers. And so Rome, the former republic, began centuries of world domination as an empire, and western civilization prospered.

Did some of those old Romans complain that they had lost their rights of citizenship? Did they long to restore the republic? Probably, but that was not going to happen. Once Augustus established the empire, there was not going to be a comeback for the old republic. And besides, they still had the senate and most of their favorite political offices and republican trappings. They had elections and everything.

There's a lot to be learned from the Romans. If you give the people what they want, they'll apparently put up with quite a lot of reform. Of course, it's hard to go back to the old pre-reform days once the reforms have set in. Once you settle for a fake senate, it's hard to know how to get back the real thing. Once you settle for fake elections, how do you demand a return to real elections? But then if you don't mind the new regime, why should you want to return? Was the world really better off with the Roman republic and all those civil wars? Or was it better off with the Pax Augusta? I suspect most of those old Romans would have voted for the Pax Augusta. Not that they really had a choice in the matter.

In his Life of Reason, George Santayana remarked that "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." But let's look on the bright side, or as Bob Dylan once said, "I'll let you be in my dream, if I can be in yours."