I’ve often said that we all should have the strength of character to FACE UP TO OUR BRUTAL REALITY.
We are now in a new ‘Gilded Age’ that can be compared to the ‘Gilded Age’ in the USA in the late 19th century. This new ‘Gilded Age’ is driven by the move from an analogue to a digital world. This new digital age is creating havoc across the world with intellectual capital very often more valuable than things. Airbnb owns no hotels, Uber owns no cars, social media reaches billions with no telecoms infrastructure, etc etc.
Let’s have a look back in history.
One of the many factors that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire was the rise of a new religion, Christianity. In 313 AD, Emperor Constantine the Great ended all persecution and declared toleration for Christianity resulting in Christianity becoming the official religion of the Empire. This drastic change in policy spread this relatively new religion to every corner of the Empire directly undermining its religious traditions.
Constantine enacted another change that helped accelerate the fall of the Empire. In 330 AD he split the Empire into two parts: the western half centred in Rome and the eastern half centred in Constantinople. The western Empire spoke Latin and was Roman Catholic. The eastern Empire spoke Greek and worshipped the Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity.
Over time, the east thrived, while the west declined. In fact, after the western part of the Empire fell, the eastern half continued to exist as the Byzantine Empire for hundreds of years. Therefore, the “fall of Rome” really refers only to the fall of the western half of the Empire.
Other fundamental problems contributed to the fall. In the economically ailing west, a decrease in agricultural production led to higher food prices. The western half of the empire had a large trade deficit with the eastern half. The west purchased luxury goods from the east but had nothing to offer in exchange.
There were also political and military difficulties. It didn’t help that political amateurs were in control of Rome in the years leading up to its fall. Army generals dominated and corruption was rampant. Over time, as money grew tight the government hired the cheaper and less reliable Germanic soldiers who had no real loyalty to Rome. By the end, these armies were defending Rome against their fellow Germanic tribesmen. Under these circumstances, the fall of Rome came as no surprise.
Today, apart from the impact of the digital age the world is experiencing a decline in religion, especially in developed countries. Millennials of all religious dominations are abandoning the faith of their parents and religion is becoming the crutch of the poor and disadvantaged. Like the Romans our religious traditions are under attack.
We have an east/west split with the dominance over the last 300 years in the developed west coming to an end with SE Asia led by China, becoming the new economic power house. The west buys stuff but as Trump is finding out in China and Japan they do not want to buy our stuff such as US-produced cars.
Our political system is riddled with amateurs such as the Romans had towards the end. Currently we have incompetents who do not know which way to turn. Politicians continue to overspend building up debt whilst the Europeans do not commit to their military spending undertakings. Finally, the move to being more nationalist is a key sign the political system of the west is broken.
Gordon is the former president and chief executive of BMMI. He can be reached at gordonboyle@hotmail.com