Help for my history assignment (The Fall of the Roman Empire)

[insurgent]

Interesting, calgacus, I'll just have to read that...

Mitiu Ioan, the reason I quoted Mises in this is that I came across it in another context. Politically I am a classical liberal (libertarian in US terms), so I thought it might be useful if I felt like giving it a political spin... So, the reason was that I'd like to hear your criticism of it, so that I could address it in the event that I was to use this version.
But yes, it is very biased, but if you agree with the bias, then there's really nothing wrong with it, is there now?

 

[Mîtiu Ioan]

Politically I am a classical liberal (libertarian in US terms), so I thought it might be useful if I felt like giving it a political spin

I was 99% sure about this ...
AFAIK von Mises is for libertarians like Marx and Lenin for communists or Burke for conservatives. ( correct me if I'm wrong ... )

But yes, it is very biased, but if you agree with the bias, then there's really nothing wrong with it, is there now ?

I'm afraid I cannot agree with this bias ...
You see - here is a very common ( and for me unpleasant tendence ... ) - to find "laboratory evidence" for sustaining a general theory. In physics is relativelly simple - go to lab and mount an experiment ...
But in social science ... there are no labs ( or at least not on "large scale" ) ... so the history and the past are probably the first "place to search" such proves ...

Unfortunately ... in ( too ) many situation the some problem appear ... the "experimentator" have a ( big/decissive ) impact on experiment's result - this time by the "basic premises" used.

I stop myself here - because isn't the subject of this thread - but if you want ( and if understand my poor english ... ) we may continue ...

Regards - and have a nice day.

P.S. : My last name is Ioan.

 

[insurgent]

Mitiu, yes, Mises is great in libertarianism, but he's not that great. he was one of the great proponents of the so-called Austrian economic school most prominently advocated by FA von Hayek and later Murray N Rothbard.
Milton Friedman is also a great libertarian, but, depending on which branch of libertarianism we speak of, Adam Smith, John Locke, and perhaps even Ayn Rand deserve mention...

... which is completely besides the point...

But you are probably right, my first reaction to that Mises explanation was that it was a little far out. And indeed, he does not seek to answer why the Roman Empire fell apart, but simply to prove how dangerous inflationary taxation was and economic interventionism.
Revisionist history based on political bias is usually not something one should accept without skepticism.

History is as much in the eye of the beholder as anything.

Your English is not that poor, I can understand how hard it must be for a Romanian to write in English. Heck, I'm from Denmark (Danish resembles English as do most Germanic languages...), and my English is not quite perfect either.

 

[Pangur Bán]

Originally posted by Mîtiu Ioan


P.S. : Calgacus ... this is ( for me at least ) a very ... "original" point of view !!!
May I insist for further details ?

What "further details" were you thinking of?

 

[Mîtiu Ioan]

Sorry for delay ...

Originally posted by calgacus
What "further details" were you thinking of?

At the begining ... for this assertion for example :

as the mediterranean economy was booming way into the 6th century

This one is particulary surprising for me !!

And ... the first question about "increasing germanised army" of late Roman Empire ... this is also valid for the "Pretorian Guards" ?
Or ... especially for them ?

Regards

P.S. : Insurgent - Hayek is good and IMHO, more "equilibrated" than von Mises. For example, I was really impressed reading a book of him where he ( and colaborators ) try debunk the "myth" of "inhuman early capitalism in England". Verrry interesting ....