The Collapse of Antiquity: Greece and Rome as Civilization's Oligarchic Turning Point (2023)

The Collapse of Antiquity, the sequel to Michael's "...and forgive them their debts, " is the second and latest book in his trilogy on the history of debt. It describes how the dynamics of interest-bearing debt led to the rise of rentier oligarchies in classical Greece and Rome, causing economic polarization, widespread austerity, revolts, wars and ultimately the collapse of Rome into serfdom and feudalism. That collapse bequeathed to subsequent Western civilization a pro-creditor legal philosophy that has led to today's creditor oligarchies. In telling this story, The Collapse of Antiquity reveals the eerie parallels between the collapsing Roman world and today's debt-burdened Western economies. The Collapse of Antiquity is vast in its sweep, covering: - the transmission of interest-bearing debt from the Ancient Near East to the Mediterranean world, but without the "safety valve" of periodic royal Clean Slate debt cancellations to restore economic balance and prevent the emergence of creditor oligarchies; - the rise of creditor and landholding oligarchies in classical Greece and Rome; - classical antiquity's debt crises and revolts, and the suppression, assassination and ultimately failure of reformers; - the role played by greed, money-lust (wealth-addiction) and hubris, as analysed by Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and other ancient writers; - Rome's "End Time" collapse into serfdom and pro-creditor oligarchic legacy that continues to shape the West; - the transformation of Christianity as it became Rome's state religion, supporting the oligarchy, dropping the revolutionary early Christian calls for debt cancellation and changing the meaning of the Lord's Prayer and "sin," from a focus on the economic sphere to the personal sphere of individual egotism; - how pro-creditor ideology distorts recent economic interpretations of antiquity, showing increasing sympathy with Rome's oligarchic policies. Acknowledgements Preface Maps Introduction Summary A Chronology of Debt Crises and Land Struggles in Greece and Rome 1. How Interest-Bearing Debt was Brought to Greece and Italy, 8th Century BC Part I — Greece 2. Reformers Cancel Debts and Redistribute Land, 7th and 6th Centuries BC 3. Sparta’s Oligarchy Defers an Early Political Crisis, 6th Century BC 4. Solon Bans Debt Slavery in Athens, 594 BC 5. From Democracy to the Thirty Tyrants, 508-404 BC 6. Public Finance, from Temples to Oligarchs 7. Plato, Aristophanes and Aristotle on Money-Lust, 4th Century BC 8. Agis, Cleomenes and Nabis Cancel Sparta’s Debts, 3rd Century BC Part II — Rome 9. From Rome’s Takeoff to the Patrician Coup, 753-509 BC 10. Secession of the Plebs and Broken Patrician Promises, 495-471 BC 11. The Twelve Tables and Struggle for Debt Reform, 462-390 BC 12. New Revolts Lead to the Banning of Debt Slavery, 390-287 BC 13. The Punic Wars End with a Financial Land Grab, 218-198 BC 14. Rome’s Empire Enriches its Financial Oligarchy, 2nd Century BC 15. Revolts Against and Within Rome Lead to Financial Crisis, 91-86 BC 16. The Mithridatic Wars Against Roman Creditors, 88-63 BC 17. Rome’s Land and Debt Crisis from Sulla to Catiline, 83-62 BC 18. From Cato and Cicero to Pompey and Caesar, 65-49 BC 19. Caesar’s Moderate Debt and Land Legislation, 49-44 BC 20. The Empire’s Fiscal Squeeze and Money Shortage, 1st to 3rd Centuries AD Part III — Epilogue 21. Rome’s End Time Leads the Church to Ban Usury, 4th Century AD 22. Romanized Christianity Supports the Oligarchy, 4th and 5th Centuries AD 23. Roman History and Modern Ideology Bibliography This book traces the role of debt in Antiquity and suggests that it was the longlasting curse of interest-bearing loans being handed out that could not be repaid. It eroded the fabric of society.