Was the Roman empire Socialist, since they collected taxes to provide mail service and bread to the poor?

A bit of "transfer of wealth" and "big government" ya think? Or is more needed to be socialist?

Cursus publicusWas the Roman empire Socialist, since they collected taxes to provide mail service and bread to the poor?
The current Conservatives' definition of socialism is so absurd that yes, the Romans were socialists!



Don't forget: free water from public aqueducts, free sewage service, public roads.



The Romans marked all kinds of stuff with the label SPQR which stands for "Senatus Populusque Romanus" or "The Roman Senate and People" (the suffix 'que' means 'and') to show that "the people" owned all the public works. Sounds commie to me!



Rome was founded in 753 BC and reached its greatest strength during the reign of Trajan (98-117 AD).



However, in 309 AD they let Constantine, a Christian, be emperor, and within 100 years the Ostrogoths, Visigoths, and Huns had sacked Rome.



Do you think it was the socialistic SPQR free water and sewage and public roads that killed Rome? They were there for all of it's 1000 year history...

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All must celebrate Obama...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBN9gKErC鈥?/a>Was the Roman empire Socialist, since they collected taxes to provide mail service and bread to the poor?
I'm not sure it is wise using mail service as an arguing point. The US Postal service is a broke dick dog.
They also fed Christians to the lions, took slaves for the state and promoted homosexuality. Sounds a lot like todays leaders. The more things change the more they stay the same.Was the Roman empire Socialist, since they collected taxes to provide mail service and bread to the poor?
Stop trying to excuse Obama and socialism.
They became more and more socialized, then they collapsed.



Good point to remember.
If you are using the abhorrent, violent, destructive, Empire of Cruel Hedonism as a defense for American social programs I think you may either need to take a history class, drop out of politics altogether or AT LEAST talk to a Dark Ages-era Pict and find out how much he liked being at the business-end of that "bread line."
You answered your own question and didn't even know it, midst of you trying to be a smartazz. Pay to provide a service!



What services have you seen provided from the TARP? Yeah that's what's I thought!
here's a memo...Rome Fell!!!
if people think democrat socialist are bad



wait till those neo nazi facist Republitards get back in power



MORE WATER BOARDING
The Roman Empire was an oligarchy. The concept of Socialism was not invented until the 20th century. What makes a society Socialist is not that the Federal Government provides mail service or national defense, but that the Federal Government controls all wealth, property and means of production and rations them according to its own rules. Participation is mandatory. Social Security is a socialist program. Welfare is a socialist program. Medicare and Medicaid are socialist programs. A 401k retirement account is not a socialist program because you can opt out and you maintain posession of your own wealth.



The Mail service is a controlled monopoly not a socialist program. You do not have to send anything by mail if you don't want to. You can use a private delivery service. Providing bread for the poor is not the job of the Federal Government either. The Constitution requires that such programs, if they exist at all, are left to the States to provide. The same for Education. The same for roads and bridges.



A lot of people get confused because the Interstate Highway system was a Federal Program. It was but that was Constitutional because it was done for National Defense purposes. You see, after WWII President Eisenhower realized that we had a serious problem in our national defense. We had no way to transport massive amounts of men and equipment from Coast to Coast or Border to Border. That is what he Interstate Highway system was built to provide. That also explains why it has long stretches of straight roadway with no overhead obstructions. They were designed to be used as emergency runways for aircraft.



Ask an old guy like me and you lean stuff.



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