Lessons of the Roman Empire
Demographic Doom Podcast
English - October 01, 2019 21:59 - 16 minutes - 15.2 MB - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsPhilosophy Society & Culture Science Social Sciences Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Previous Episode: Will Technology Save Us from Falling Population?
Every historian has their own theory about why the Western Roman Empire collapsed. Was it their hedonism, invading barbarians or incompetent rulers? Glenn Campbell offers his own view based on macroeconomics and the theories of anthropologist Joseph Tainter. At its base, the Roman Empire ran on grain, which could be stored and taxed. Collapse became inevitable when the cost of maintaining the empire exceeded the grain collected.