From: Zero Hedge
Dominant superpowers don’t accumulate $30 trillion in debt
FEB 07, 2022
by Simon Black via Sovereign Man
…
The government was extremely unstable, and notoriously corrupt. They rigged elections. They sent Praetorian guards to harass and intimidate their opponents. And they sewed social conflict so that Romans turned on one another.
In the meantime, the Roman economy was collapsing. Inflation became so rampant that Diocletian infamously had to implement extreme price controls, and then threaten to kill anyone who didn’t follow them.
They also lost control of their borders, as countless barbarian tribes poured into the empire and squatted on Roman lands.
The barbarian migration eventually turned into full-blown invasions and military conflict, and the Roman military lost a number of major battles.