Thinking about my academic qualifications the last few days made me revisit some of my old subject areas.
The Gracchi era of the Roman Republic I’ve consequently realized offers something of a precedent for today’s disruption.
The Gracchi brothers were tribunes (representatives of the plebs) who were disturbed by the displacement of peasants from the land by slaves (effective roman equivalent of robot) and demanded reforms to compensate the peasants. Part of the problem was also that most of the land had been acquired by rome’s wealthiest citizens and speculators. There was consequently little opportunity for wealth to be distributed, even by military honors, which usually entitled soldiers to a patch of land and thus a livelihood.
The Gracchi wanted land redistribution, but also what I guess could be called a form of basic income payable in grain to tide the peasants over....Occupy Rome didn’t end well.
Dizzynomics
A Gracchi Occupy precedent
Izabella Kaminska
