Anyone who is still a bit confused about the competing claims of supporters of capitalism and socialism that their approach is the best for development, should read this historical assessment below.
Prof Walter Scheidel of Stanford University convincingly illustrates how the repressive central command structures of the Roman Empire suppressed development and innovation throughout its different multi-ethnic jurisdictions and perpetuated a rigid class structure controlled by only a few individuals at the top.
This aspect of the Roman empire was in a number of respects, although not all, similar to the 20th century multinational socialist Soviet Union empire who also failed as miserably, together with other centrally commanded socialist experiments in China and Cuba. In these cases only gradual opening-up of their respective systems to the benefits of capitalist-type free market activities, have so far prolonged their political survival.
The Roman ‘colonial’ system was also the forerunner of the 19th century’s ‘scramble for Africa’ and the colonial exploitation of similar lesser developed countries in Latin America and the East. This neo-colonialism was also not sustainable, as the decolonisation waves of the 1950s and 1960s illustrated.
The eventual failure of the Roman empire, for a very complex number of reasons, fragmented the stagnating political hegemony of the Roman elites enforced on their conquered ‘colonial’ territories. The demise of Rome and of its brief partial successor, the Holy Roman Empire, enabled individual creativity and innovation to explode across Western Europe in competing city-states and regions, and largely kick-started a renaissance that introduced the exponential modernisation and development of western societies.
In contrast, the Chinese and Muslim empires of the time maintained strict political and military control over their divergent nationalities and continued to stagnate in serving the interests of their small groups of repressive rulers. They were eventually bypassed developmentally by what they regarded as small, insignificant and feudally backwards European city-states, engrossed in fierce internal conflicts for survival and domination.
These ethnic and regional western conflicts, however, created a desperate need and opportunities for, and the fast-tracking of, innovation and competitive advantages that stimulated progress and development in all social sectors, from the military to economic, political, social and cultural spheres of society. This is still the essence of western free market capitalist competition which is minimally regulated to ensure orderly interaction of citizens without stifling lateral thinking, innovation, experimentation and taking calculated risks in order to achieve positions of competitive advantage towards other players striving to also improve their positions in life.
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This relatively fast western capitalist progress, unfortunately also had its darker sides of perpetuating class distinctions in many cases and maintaining and even increasing inequality between the power and influence of the wealthy (Musk, Bezos, Gates, etc) and the lack of power and influence of poorer classes and communities (in Africa, Bangladesh, India, etc).
However, the abolition of slavery in western countries in the 19th century, the introduction of a globally accepted individual liberal rights regime in the 20th century and the democratisation of western societies, have so far steadily decreased these gaps, and provided softer boundaries between these privileged and still not so privileged groups. These innovations created increasing opportunities to disadvantaged individuals to break out of their historically determined backgrounds, be more upwardly mobile and to improve their conditions of life. This has so far proven to be impossible in socialist systems.
The fall of the Roman Empire was therefore a blessing in disguise for the world, rather than a great tragedy as has so far been widely accepted. Although creating more conflict and tragedy in some cases, it generally stimulated capitalist individualism and competition, which brought progress across western nations. Socialist hegemonic control still seems to continue to just bring poverty only and a lack of comparable societal progress.
FANIE CLOETE
