Great Moments in Egalitarianism
Somewhere around 20BC in the Roman Empire, the emperor Augustus Caesar wanted to to promote a bit of egalitarianism in Rome, and hoped to curb some of the conspicuous consumption of the rich. It turned out that the most conspicuous display of wealth was the freeing of slaves, usually in one's will. Slaves were quite valuable, and freeing a large lot of them on one's death was considered a great way to flaunt how rich one had been in life.
So, in the name of egalitarianism, Augustus set strict limits on the number of slaves that could be freed at any one time. Thus slavery was maintained in the name of egalitarianism.
Moron Pundit:
Amazing! I'd say something about how stupid that was but watching our current political system doesn't make me feel very superior.
October 26, 2007, 10:17 amdearieme:
A lefty would justify it by pointing to the resentment and envy felt by those slaves who hadn't been freed towards those who had. But he wouldn't say "resentment and envy"; instead he'd drivel about social justice, deprivation and so forth.
October 26, 2007, 10:51 am