[quote author=Mesaclone link=topic=405541.msg2232683#msg2232683 date=1592484592
Nation states that do not adapt, do not last. Rome is the perfect example...as it grew and attained empire, it changed radically internally. Discontent amongst the Plebs led to; an increase in tribunal power, entry of many wealthy Plebs into the Senate, use of the Assembly to circumvent the Senate's authority, citizenship being broadened to include the Italians, etcetera...as an example. The broad use of pro-consular power and the non-traditional repeated election of one individual into the Consulship...and in some cases the implementation of a Dicator to deal with crisis...allowed Romans to deal with existential threats from other states. Over time, that Republican structure did become rigid...unable to deal with the broad complications of international presence and authority...and so it fell. After that, emperors still ruled, ostensibly, as leaders of the Senate which never ceased to exist as an instrument of government...emperors proved more capable of dealing flexibly with a changing empire. So contrary to your assertion that a "static" state is what endures, clearly it is the flexibility of a nation's government that allows it adapt to changing world conditions.
That little Roman history lesson aside, your assertion that the Republic has been dead since WWI is utterly ridiculous...sounds like a "theory" from an academic who needs to get our of his office and experience the country first hand. The Republic thrived in the 20th century and still functions today...our economic strength alone is the best indicator of this as is our individual ability to speak, assemble and bear arms...endangered though those rights now are. So, while the Republic may now be hanging by an electoral thread at this point...it still "is". Claiming its been gone for 100 years is akin to surrendering today...as few would be willing to fight to defend a corpse. Let me assure you, she is not dead...and desperately needs us to fight for her in this time of need.
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* Greece and Rome were dynamic never, ever static, the reason they endured and thrived for an
aggregate of some 1,800 years; creating Western Civilization in their passage through history.
As for their demise, surely you're aware that all of Mankind's creations are material and time limited.
* Italy came into existence around 1860 AD.
* Institutions are "dead" when they no longer embrace/reflect the values that birthed them,
whether or not the structure exists; just as an abandoned house is hardly a vibrant home.
As a nation and a people, we have forsaken those precepts and values that founded us,
a reality as obvious as 2+2=4 and replaced them w/political malarkey, embracing our malaise.
Regarding your commentary, you're surely entitled to your opinions, yet suggest you dispense
w/pretensions, such as "little Roman history lesson." Reflection fosters insight, the enemy of cliche'.
Anyway stay well.
