On 22/11/2013, at 4:00 PM, Michael Smith <mjs at smithbowen.net> wrote:
> Did the Roman Empire
> decline because of lead in the plumbing? Or because
> of the insidious influence of Christianity? Or because
> they ran out of barbarians to enslave?
Too many barbarians to enslave. Slaves too cheap, undermining the economic foundations of and immiserating the Roman proletariat. Only reasons historians can't agree on that is they are beholden to an economic system that is likewise past its use-by date and starting to undermine the empire, the parallels all too obvious. So historians do what they are paid to do, ensure that the people don't learn from history.
Bill Bartlett Bracknell Tas