Steve Schear wrote:
> Rome had a very sound economic policy
> based on slavery and military might.
> It lasted about 1000 years. Few would
> argue this was not a success story.
No one could argue that Rome was a success, but I'm not sure that Steve's
two factors were the reason. Virtually every culture of that time included
slavery as an element of their economies. It wasn't a distinguishing
characteristic of economy. While there is no arguing that military might
was a large factor in Rome's success, it should be remembered that Rome's
army served largely to protect trade with Rome's colonies. Trade made and
kept Rome great.
S a n d y
