Two millennia ago, the Roman poet Decimus Junius Juvenalis (“Juvenal”) decried the political phenomenon of “bread and circuses”.
Back in AD100, the Roman empire was crushed by so much debt and income inequality (sound familiar?) that its emperors tried to placate a restive public with free “bread” (ie short-term bribes) and gladiatorial contests or “circuses”. The idea was to distract them — while ignoring the need for structural reform. Is this happening again?
Two months ago, it seemed so. Washington’s recent leaders, like the Roman emperors, have also been negligent about tackling structural problems, such as America’s $36tn debt. And Donald Trump campaigned to become the 47th president — or modern-day emperor — on a “bread and circuses” platform.