[fhayek]

I have spouted the history of the Roman Emperors to whoever would listen. After Julius Ceaser established the Emperor, and Augustus consolidated it, many in the Senate longed for a return to the Republic. No one did anything (or did enough anyway), and a series of emperors ensued, each worse than the last. The people DID get bread and circuses, though.

[CatOwner]

"No one did anything (or did enough anyway), and a series of emperors ensued, each worse than the last."

Our present and future succinctly stated.

[Sirius Lee]

bobo skipped past Julius and went straight to Caligula mode.

[stormhill]

From the article:
Roman Emperor Julius Caesar...

Technical point, but Julius Caesar wasn't an Emperor; he was a Dictator.
Augustus was the first Emperor.

[mrsmith]

“The people DID get bread and circuses, though.”

The merchants ‘got’ bread.
It freed up consumers’ money to spend, and the merchants got addicted to that.
The circus became the dominant media outlet, in a position to insulate Bread and Circus’s survival against criticism.
The people got devastation.

[Pietro]

I've been ruminating lately that the era we live in closely resembles the last days of the Roman Republic.

Elections are meaningless and power is shared amongst those whose primary interest is their own power.

The Roman Senate allowed themselves to be transformed into a brothel.

The time for free men to step forward and reclaim our right grows short and soon we will be chattel in our own home.