Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Dedication
- Acknowledgments
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Equilibrium political repression
- 3 The tinpot and the totalitarian
- 4 Tyranny and timocracy
- 5 A more general model
- Part III Economics of autocracy
- Part IV The dynamics of dictatorship
- Part V Conclusion
- References
- Name index
- Subject index
4 - Tyranny and timocracy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Dedication
- Acknowledgments
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Equilibrium political repression
- 3 The tinpot and the totalitarian
- 4 Tyranny and timocracy
- 5 A more general model
- Part III Economics of autocracy
- Part IV The dynamics of dictatorship
- Part V Conclusion
- References
- Name index
- Subject index
Summary
It was dangerous to trust the sincerity of Augustus; to seem to distrust it was still more dangerous.
Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1981)Love and hate in the Roman Empire
The ancient Roman Empire still remains the example of greatness to which many dictators aspire. It was the model for Mussolini and Hitler, who tried to emulate it in both architectural style and longevity – and who failed on both counts. As an illustration of absolute power, what was perhaps most remarkable about the empire was its extent: Whoever commanded the empire monopolized political power in the civilized world. As Gibbon (1981) expressed it,
The object of [a modern tyrant's] displeasure, escaping from the narrow limits of his dominions, would easily obtain, in a happier climate, a secure refuge, a new fortune adequate to his merit, the freedom of complaint, and perhaps the means of revenge. But the empire of the Romans filled the world, and when that empire fell into the hands of a single person, the world became a safe and dreary prison for his enemies.… “Wherever you are,” said Cicero to the exiled Marcellus, “remember that you are equally within the power of the conqueror.” (pp. 111–12)
The emperors themselves did not use the title “dictator,” but they most surely had those powers. The main other contenders for power were the Senate and the people of Rome.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Political Economy of Dictatorship , pp. 77 - 105Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1998