United States Power Versus The Roman Empire - Research Paper Example

?United s Power versus the Roman Empire The ancient Roman Empire and the United s share many similarities despite having existed in different epochs. Ancient Roman Empire was in authority from 509 BC to 476 AD. Although the Roman Empire fell after 476 AD, its authority and method of governance is similar to that of the modern United States. The Roman Empire is considered as the greatest empire or government in the ancient world. This is in regards to political influence and an outstanding system of government that made the empire to conquer and colonize the world. Although the United States is incomparable in geographical size to the ancient Roman Empire, its influence on global affair correspond to the area or region that was under the Roman Empire. This essay investigates the similarities and differences between the ancient Roman Empire and the United States. The essay achieves its objective by comparing and contrasting political, economic, and military power of the two governments. The Roman Empire valued its military, and this made the empire to have the strongest military in the world. Similarly, the US has the strongest military in the world. The US also has the largest budget allocation for its military similar to the budgetary allocation of the ancient Roman Empire. In the Roman Empire soldiers were the most respected class or citizens, they were given the best training, the finest equipment, and decent allowances (Benjamin 145). Although United States, have other professions that are beyond the military, US soldiers remain a respected class. In addition, the US military has the best training in the world that uses the latest technology and equipment. The Roman Empire had its military in almost every part of the world that was reachable during their time. Roman military invaded other kingdoms with the objective of conquering and expanding the Roman Empire. Although the US has never colonized any sovereign states, its military is in operation in almost every country in the world. The US military has bases in every continent and they are in operation in various countries around the globe. Currently, the US military has ongoing operations in almost every continent. The two governments use their political influence to maintain their authority around the globe. The US uses sophisticated political system that shares some characteristic with the Roman Empire political system. Conquering and colonizing other kingdoms was the main political strategy applied by the Roman Empire. The Romans conquered other kingdoms and forced them to pay royalties as a strategy of maintaining their influence. Although the US applies its military strength to maintain its influence around the globe, it carries its activities under the disguise of maintaining or establishing democracy. The US is also a major stakeholder in global organizations such as the UN and NATO (Felice 56). Through these organizations, the US is able to influence other governments around the world through the objectives and operations of these organizations. The US also uses its economic aid such as food aid and financing of development projects as a strategy of exercising it control over other countries. Attached to the aid given to different country are the economic sanctions that the US applies through major world institutions and organization such as the UN, World Bank and the IMF. Several countries depend on the United States for food aid. Such countries range from poor sub-Saharan states to wealth countries such as the North Korea. The military power and political influence of the two governments has its roots in their economic capabilities. Currently the US has the strongest economy in the world. Although there are speculations that the Chinese economy is overtaking the US economy, the economies of the two countries are still a great distance apart. The US dollar is acceptable in almost every country as a medium of exchange (Felice 221). Similarly, the Roman currency was acceptable in all regions that the empire had its influence. The Roman currency was in use as far as India despite the empire having its headquarters at central Europe (Freeman 56). Although both the United States and the Roman Empire had the strongest economies, their economies are declining. The Roman Empire fell due to a declining economy similarly the influence of the US around the world will decline because of it economy. Currently the US has excessive allocation for its military in the expense of other sectors of the economy. The US government is also privatizing various state facilities in order to balance its budget. The declining economy is also demonstrated by the increased public debt and high interest rates. The country also has the highest level of taxation around the world. The declining value of the US dollar is another indicator of a declining economy. The Roman Empire also had a declining economy that led to the collapse of the empire. The large military allocation and high taxation are some of the similarities between the two governments. During the time of plague, the empire lost about 10% of its total population. This resulted in increased taxation on the remaining population in order to take care of military expenses. Increased taxation and large budgetary allocation for the military are some of the factor that led to the decline of the Roman economy. Although the two governments have declining economies, they have the most sophisticated economies around the world. The US economy applies the latest economic knowledge and it is considered as an ideal economy in the world. Similarly, the Romans applied the best knowledge available during that time to tackle their economic problem. In addition, the Roman Empire had global economic influence. The empire controlled economic activities ranging from sophisticated trade such as those dealings with gold and silver to less sophisticated trade such as agriculture in Egypt and northern parts of modern Sudan. Unlike the Roman Empire, the US lacks direct control over the global economy. The US however has strong brands that have conquered the world economy (Felice 121). The Wal-Mart and Disney world are some of the United States economic organization or brands that have conquered the world’s economies. These brands are incomparable to any other brand in the world’s economy. The Roman Empire had a capitalist economy similar to the economy of the modern United States. This indicates the existence of economic classes among the people living in the two countries. The US has a large middle class and a small population in the upper class. The ancient Roman Empire had similar economic divisions among its population. Infrastructure plays an important role sustaining and determining the economy of a country. The Roman Empire is known for the role it played in the development of infrastructure. Similarly, the US has large allocation for development of infrastructure (Chasemillis Web). The Ancient Roman Empire had the best engineers who assisted the empire to develop state of the art buildings and bridges. The empire also had road networks that connected areas of economic interest around the empire. Similarly, the economy of the modern United States is built around the country’s infrastructures. The country has both physical infrastructures such as sophisticated transport network and less visible infrastructure such as internet infrastructures. Conclusion Although the Roman Empire existed long before the creation of the United States, the two nations shares similar basic characteristics. The Roman Empire exercised direct authority over the regions under its influence while the US applies indirect tactics to exercise its authority. Both the US and the Roman Empire have the strongest economies and militaries around the world. The two governments also have the most sophisticated political system that enables them to have influence over other nations. The Roman Empire had a declining economy that is similar to the declining economy of the modern US. The main difference between the ancient Roman Empire and the US is that the Roman Empire exercised its authority around the globe through physical occupation. The Roman Empire conquered other kingdoms and forced them to pay royalty to the emperor. Unlike the Roman Empire, the US exercises its authority around the globe through world organizations such as the UN, IMF, Nato, and the World Bank. The US also uses other indirect means such as food aid and sanctions to control the world. Works Cited Benjamin, Isaac, "The Limits of Empire: the Roman Army in the East" Oxford University Press, 2001. Print. Chasemillis. Roman Empire vs. “United States - Are we heading towards the same fate?” chasemillis.hubpages. Web 20, March 2012. Freeman, Charles. The Greek Achievement: The Foundation of the Western World. New York: Penguin, 1999. Print. Felice, Williams. The Global New Deal: Economic and Social Human Rights in World Politics. Oxford: Rowan & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2003. Print. Read More