There is, today, a new Rome. It is located on the other side of the Atlantic. The United States not only has three centuries of history, but 3,000 years, because it is the direct heir of the Roman Empire. The continuity is obvious. Let’s start with the symbols. What is the emblem of the United States? The eagle, like Rome. American currency? It comes from Latin, E pluribus unum (One, from many). Like the Roman Capitol, the US Senate is built on a hill – Capitol Hill. And what do we see on the statue of Abraham Lincoln in Washington, in the Oval Office and on the dimes? Fasces, symbol of the authority of the Republic in ancient Rome.
Like the Romans, Americans built an empire. They unified the English colonies by freeing them from the supervision of London, took territories from the Mexicans and bought back others from the French. But for Americans, influence – military, political, cultural, economic – has always been more important than the occupation of territories, just as Rome, in its time, sought to conclude alliances with foreign kings without occupying their lands. . The Roman legions did not guard the borders. They relied on satellite kingdoms (Mauritania, Thrace, Cappadocia, Judea), which provided soldiers in exchange for subsidies. This military potential constituted a formidable diplomatic weapon.
It is by following this strategy that the American empire expanded during the 20th century, by signing protectorates with states (Puerto Rico), by convincing others to host bases (Philippines, Cuba) or by transforming former enemies into allies (Germany, Italy, Japan). The Romans did not force the people they had conquered to renounce their gods, their currency, their laws. You could become Roman regardless of your skin color and country of origin. Like their distant ancestors, Americans place little importance on ethnic origins. Only value, knowledge and what we bring to the community count.
Zuckerberg or Musk, the new Augustus?
Like Rome, the United States cultivates power over minds through science, the arts (cinema, music) and technology. Moreover, there are real analogies between Rome and the digital revolution. It is no coincidence that the founders of Gafa are fascinated by ancient Rome. The prospect of uniting and governing a community the size of the planet made Mark Zuckerberg, creator of Facebook, feel like the new Augustus. Fun fact: Priscilla, his wife, says that during their honeymoon – in Rome, of course – Mark had his photo taken in front of every statue of Augustus he saw! And he not only adopted the same haircut as his distant model, but also gave his daughters first names evoking the life of the founder of the Empire: Aurelia, Maxima and… August, of course. For Zuckerberg, Facebook is a replica of the Roman Empire. And he sees himself as the leader of a community as large as what was called during Antiquity the “known world”.
And he is not the only one to be inspired by Augustus and his successors! In 2021, Elon Musk declared himself the “Imperator of Mars”. Note – nice symbol – that in the summer of 2023, Musk challenged Zuckerberg to a duel… at the Colosseum in Rome.
Bill Gates is not left out. The founder of Microsoft, who recommends on his blog to watch the cult BBC series on Emperor Claudius, suggested after the Covid pandemic to create a “global task force” on the model of the fire brigade created by Augustus after the fire that devastated Rome.
But just as Rome owed its fall to barbarian invasions – and also to its internal fragilities – the United States today faces dissensions which prevent it from playing its role as “beacon of the world” and a model to follow for the ideals of democracy and freedom. Thus, Donald Trump’s victory in 2016, and his slogan “America First”, can be read as a decision to neglect the rest of the world, from the Middle East to Africa, while China – which, better that anyone knows the meaning of the word empire – conversely lays the foundations for a future hegemony.
(1) “Rome, the infinite empire”, by Aldo Cazzullo (ed. Harper Collins)
*Aldo Cazzullodeputy director of the Milanese daily Corriere della Serahas published around thirty works on Italian history and identity, including several bestsellers. Rome: The Infinite Empire is his first book published in France.
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