Over the centuries, historians have tried to find an explanation for the fall of the Roman Empire. One of the causes I have seen cited very often is moral decadence. As nobody has been able to explain to me what moral decadence is, I have to assume that it is the lack of divine intervention.
For, indeed, when I look at the economic situation of Rome around the 5th century A.D., I can quite believe that only a miracle would have saved the empire. An abnormally large army (read excessive weight of the state sector in the economy) and the abolition of slavery (read the disappearance of 100% taxation) would have been enough to rock the boat. Excess of expenditure over income, and no way to fund the deficit. Classic.
Naturally, you can try and find many other causes, and I will not argue with you. It's like somebody that suffers from a terminal disease, but whose death certificate points to multiple organ failure as the cause of death. In the end, what difference does it make?
Of course, everybody knows that states do not go bankrupt. Even if they did, I would not be moved to tears. What concerns me is that, through the disastrous economic policies of those that are supposed to know how to govern us, private wealth, which is the motor of any economy, gets reduced to ashes. The victims are always the same – the common people.
Would you trust your barber with a heart operation? No? So, when it comes to economic policies, why do you trust professional politicians? You must obviously believe in divine intervention. For sure.
