History, dictatorship.. what have we learnt?
Play
I have just finished reading the third novel in Robert Harris’ brilliant trilogy based on the life of Cicero. It’s about politicians who struggle to practice and defend democracy, but fail because of the corruptibility and greed of many of them.
The politicians are divided, and some favour allowing the all-powerful general, Julius Caesar, to take control of the Empire.
Trying to preserve democracy against dictatorship, Cicero said the following in a speech: “To argue that to preserve our freedoms we must suspend our freedoms, that to safeguard elections we must cancel elections, that to defend ourselves from dictatorship we must appoint a dictator – what logic is this?”
Through various illegal means and brute force Caesar eventually overthrows the elected politicians and sets himself up as dictator, very soon believing himself a god.
Does history have anything to teach us?
Keith Barlow
