Worldly Philosophers Club

The Worldly Philosophers, Vol.1, Number 7	May 20, 2007
THE Worldly Philosophers Club For Individualists Who Seek Worldly Wisdom

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Cicero
Cicero

ROME'S FAVORITE PHILOSOPHER AND MAN OF LETTERS
By Mark Skousen

In this issue . . .

	How Cicero became Rome’s most influential leader.
	Is compromise necessary to achieve success in business and politics?
	What is the only “true” law?
	Why Cicero became a martyr in the cause of limited government.

Dear Worldly Philosophers,

In our 16-day Grand Tour of Europe, my wife and I were constantly reminded of the influence the Roman Empire has had on our lives. Latin is the foundation of French, Latin and other Romantic languages. And everywhere we witnessed the architectural, engineering and artistic feats of the classical world. For example, the Roman aqueducts we witnessed in Provence have been rightly called the eighth wonder of the world.

At the Chateau d’Ermenonville (surrounded by a moat), Bill Bonner gave a lecture comparing the decline and fall of the Roman Empire to America’s potential demise. For his lecture, I loaned him from my library a first edition copy of “New Deal in Old Rome,” by historian H. J. Haskell (Knopf, 1939). Many of the elements of a future collapse in America can be found in ancient Rome: an oversized welfare state, constant wars, deficit spending, massive inflation, moral depravity, and government regulation. “As we survey the collapse of Roman civilization we see that the trouble was not the strength of the invaders. It was internal decay,” concludes Professor Haskell. Bill Bonner would no doubt second his assessment if you have read his Empire of Debt.

But What Caused the Rise of Rome?

After Bill’s lecture, Alex Green approached me like Casca in a Shakespeare play and whispered “But why did the Roman Empire succeed?” Alex raises an important question. Historians and political pundits always seem to focus on the “decline and fall” of the Roman Empire and seldom the reason for its remarkable success in conquering the Western world, from Egypt to Great Britain, during its 1000 year reign. Yet I suspect we can learn as much from Rome’s successes as its failures.

Fortunately, we had a professional historian on our Grand Tour who could answer that question. Oxford professor Colin Wells, author of the popular history, “The Roman Empire” (Harvard University Press, 1995), spoke to our group. His book chronicles the astonishing growth of the empire and then its collapse. There are several reasons why Rome succeeded when other civilizations, including Greece, failed, but the overwhelming reason is military: Rome was primarily a warrior state.

Roman generals and soldiers were both ruthless and ingenious in their conquests. More than any other nationality, the Romans were driven to succeed. One of the most important innovations by Caesar and other Roman generals was to grant soldiers and colonists a tangible stake in Rome's success through the award of captured lands and booty. Many soldiers were also granted their freedom if they succeeded.

One Word to Describe Why Rome Succeeded

This systematic Roman strategy was reinforced in my mind when my wife and I took a side trip to Provence to visit an old friend of mine who spends his vacation in France each year with his French wife. His name is Roger Leroy Miller. If you recently graduated from college, you probably have heard of him. Roger holds the record for writing or co-writing the largest number of college textbooks in the world. His “Economics Today” is now in its 14th edition and ranked either #1 or #2 in college economics. He also publishes around 38 other textbooks in economics, finance, and law! He is by far the most prolific and successful textbook writer ever. He is a brilliant thinker (a Ph. D. graduate from University of Chicago) and entrepreneur, a true worldly philosopher who enjoys life to the fullest.

I asked Roger if he could define economics in one word, what would it be? He answered quickly: “Incentives.” Economics is all about motivating people to achieve their goals and avoid mistakes. If you provide the right incentives to yourself, your spouse, your children, your employees, your friends…..anything is possible.

Money, freedom and honors are major motivators. And that brings me back to the success of the Roman Empire. Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar, and all the other major leaders in Rome succeeded because they motivated their citizens and their army to accomplish great things. They took over the world by offering their soldiers financial and personal rewards, such as citizenship and free land. They shared in the gold and silver, and assets that they seized in conquered lands.

Moreover, when they defeated their enemies, they didn’t imposed draconian taxes and regulations. Taxes were light, and defeated countries were ruled by local governors, not micromanaged from faraway Rome.

Republican Heroes: Cicero and Cato

For most of the first 500 years, Rome was ruled by a republican form of government, with the citizen-elected Senate and assemblies making the laws. Two patriots stood out in the critical time when the Republic was threatened by tyrants: Marcus Cicero (106 - 43 BC) and Cato the Younger (95 BC - 46 BC). Cato was a politician and Stoic who was famous for his uncompromising tenacity, immunity to bribes, moral integrity, and distaste for the ubiquitous corruption of the period. The Cato Institute is named in part after him.

Cicero, Rome’s Greatest Statesman:
A Fascinating Man Who Lived in Extraordinary Times

We will discuss more about Cato in a future issue, but this time I’d like to highlight Cicero, a thinker and an intellectual who mastered the world of finance and politics. Cicero lived at the most critical time in Rome’s political history, when Republican government slid into dictatorship. He was an eyewitness to a series of crises, assassinations, civil wars and gang warfare. He knew all the principal figures: Caesar, Cato, Brutus, Pompey, Mark Anthony, and Octavius (Caesar Augustus). He was an eyewitness to Caesar’s murder on the Ides of March, 44 BC, and the civil war that followed, leading eventually to the Roman Empire under Caesar Augustus.

What I like about Cicero is that he was always more than a professional businessman or politician. Unlike Caesar and his fellow senators, who often became rich by confiscating the wealth of foreigners, Cicero went into business and became a lawyer, defending clients in the Forum, and building a fortune as a landlord and developer. But his interests went beyond business. He was passionate about Rome, and he went into politics, and eventually became Consul for a year (equivalent to president or prime minister).   He wrote letter after letter trying to persuade his fellow citizens of the virtues of the Roman Republic.

Yet he was no typical politician either. Cicero became Rome’s greatest orator, and even wrote a book on how to be a better public speaker. Moreover, his interests went beyond politics. Most politicians are only interested in politics and gossip. Not Cicero. He loved poetry and literature, and himself wrote many books on a wide range of issues, including constitutional law, morality, religion, and philosophy.   He collected objets d’art and enjoyed an extensive social life. He was a teacher who became a mentor to promising young men.

Cicero Compromised and Ultimately Failed

Cicero did everything he could to defend the Roman Republic, a constitutional form of government that combined oligopoly (rule of the few) and democracy. He was asked to join Caesar’s political alliance called the First Triumvirate, but refused, and later fought against Caesar and Mark Anthony. Unlike Cato, Cicero was a moderate who compromised when necessary. But in the end, he failed to preserve the Republic, and he was killed by Mark Anthony.

Octavius, Julius Caesar’s adopted son, became renamed himself Caesar Augustus and ruled as dictator for 45 years. His iron-handed rule created a peaceful environment for the next 200 years, the “golden age” of Rome, where armies turned from killing and ransacking to building roads, aqueducts, and theaters throughout the empire.

Of course, the Roman Empire fell apart because its leaders were too generous to its citizens and had to borrow and then inflate its currency to pay for its excesses.

Is there a lesson for our own leaders today? Republicans and Democrats are making the same mistake Rome did, by promising too much to its citizens, and by fighting expensive foreign wars. The inevitable cost is higher inflation and taxation.

What Can We Learn from Cicero?

I recommend a study of Cicero. His life teaches us that the “good life” consists of acquiring the cardinal virtues, a burning ambition, entrepreneurship, a study of ideas, good works and patriotic duty. He was “fired by the hope of liberty.”

Here are some famous quotes from Cicero:

    “Give me a young man in whom there is something of the old, and an old man with something of the young: guided so, a man may grow old in body, but never in mind.”

    "True law is right reason consonant with nature, world-wide in scope, unchanging and everlasting.....We may not oppose or alter that law, we cannot abolish it, we cannot be freed from its obligations by any legislature....This law does not differ for Rome and for Athens, for the present and for the future, but one eternal and unchanging law will be valid for all nations and all times....He who disobeys it denies himself and his own nature."

    “My days and nights are passed in one sole care and occupation -- the safety and freedom of my countrymen.”

John Adams’s first book and proudest possession was his book by Cicero. He stated, “All ages of the world have not produced a greater statesman and philosopher combined.”

Good living, AEIOU,

Marcus Aurelius (aka Mark Skousen)

P. S. Are you a modern day Cicero, a successful entrepreneur who has interests beyond business and investing? If so, you are invited to my first of worldly philosophers: FreedomFest, July 5-7, in Las Vegas. 7 themes, 77 speakers, and already over 777 signed up! Please join us, will you?

Call Tami Holland at 1 866 266 5101, or go to www.freedomfest.com. See you in Vegas on 7-7-7!