It all depends on which lessons we take, and how we apply them.

A US presidential candidate rises in his party's polls by arguing (among other whimsies) that- when they are not acting out their roles in a neo-Marxist plot- gay people are coring out American society, and only 1600 years after they polished off Rome. 

Professor Mary Beard has a new book out to explain the limits of the Empire's relevance in modern times. It is a well-timed tonic.

There is, she adds, much from which we can learn:

There was also endless debate over the distribution of free or subsidised grain to citizens living in the capital, one half of the infamous pair of “bread and circuses”, which, according to a hard-nosed Roman satirist, had sapped the political energy and independence of the people. Was this a proper use of the state’s resources and a precedent to be proud of – the first time any state in the west had decided to guarantee the basic subsistence of many of its citizens? Or was it an encouragement to idleness, and an extravagance that the exchequer could not afford? One rich Roman conservative was once caught standing in line to collect this allowance of which he vehemently disapproved and certainly did not need. When asked why, he replied: “If you’re sharing out the state’s property, I’ll come and take my cut, thank you.” This is not far from the logic of the elderly modern millionaire who claims his free TV licence or bus pass.