Real patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favorite [foreign country], are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people to surrender their interests.”
–George Washington
Washington, George. “WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL ADDRESS.” GovInfo, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CDOC-106sdoc21/pdf/GPO-CDOC-106sdoc21.pdf. Accessed 15 April 2023.
The movie Gladiator, a very popular movie, begins with the protagonist, Maximus, and later the hero, going into battle against the “last stronghold” of “barbarians”. Later, after being accused of the murder of Emperor Aurelius, Maximus ends up as a gladiator slave in the games. The condition of Rome at the time of Maximus’ gladiatorship was portrayed to be the result of the new Emperors’ reign, who was the troubled and power-hungry son of Aurelius. What was not noticed by most, and still is not to this day, is that the movie actually started with hegemonism.
Later in the movie, it is made clear that Maximus was a renowned figure who had built up his popularity with military conquest. He was also known as “The General” in an affectionate way by the people, but not for protecting Rome and instead for expanding it. Rome was an empire, and the people were made to believe that to protect their “freedom” and “prosperity” it was necessary to “civilize” the “threats”. And of course, to that, you must expand into them, make them facsimiles of yourself, and teach them how to be “free” and “prosperous”. Because if don’t, you’ll be fighting them on your front porch.
Rome was officially a republic until around 30 BC, albeit a tumultuous one. It then appointed itself an Emperor which was the official acknowledgment of a fallen republic. Prior to that, and after that were periods of perpetual war. Much of that was expansionism and much of it is the nation being pulled about by the ambitions of the power-hungry.
The exact history of Rome is not important, but what is clear is that it suffered long periods of hegemonism, and the fruit of what comes from that false reality; one of which is the constant state of embattlement, and the other is a perpetual instability. After all, the reason that an “Emperor” was needed was due to a state of crisis. But is the crisis outside threats, or inside self-destruction?
The problem with hegemonism, or the idea that being the super-power is necessary for the protection of the state, is that if the state had been protected as its constitution had prescribed, it would not have the outside “threats”, or need to “civilize” its neighbors. If it had kept the Republic, the rulers, who are there because of collapse, would not have had to conquer other lands to compensate for the lack of industry and overspending on their own land.
While the rulers, who are long released from the constraints of their constitution and foundational precepts, are looking for ways to cover for the plundered treasury, they are also looking for ways to hide it from the populous that they helped to plunder. That is where the government works for the plunderers, or the “giants”, and helps create the boogeyman or dictator villain for the giants to save them from.
Hegemonism is not only a perceived form of protection, but it also goes to another level called the hero level. At the hero level of this alternate reality, the “free” and “prosperous” become convinced that not only do they need to protect their own super-civilized greatness, but also the people who are ruled by villains who have deprived them of theirs. This is the modern-day version of “civilizing” the barbarian frontier.
At this stage, political hoaxing for the purpose of inciting fear is commonplace with regular language like “gassed his own people”, “evil tyrant”, “oppressive regime”, “terrorists state”, “a gas station with a military”, and “enemies to democracy” dominate the airwaves and the halls of government, and even governors of states unnecessarily participate in the unwarranted jargon.
The “super-power or die” mentality morphs into a force so strong that even when the empire [whether it knows it or not] acquires more debt than it can service and continues to pour resources into everything but what it should, a majority of the population continues to toe the line of expansionism and global policing. At this stage, any who dare to speak against it is not only deemed enemies themselves but also labeled negatively from the endless supply of weaponized tags and terms used to silence and discredit anyone who uses the 1st Amendment properly. The aspersions cast on the enlightened patriots are logged onto their records to make sure that nothing slips through the cracks when the future social credit system is implemented. That’s the price of protection as if the confiscation of wealth for everything but the country should’ve been plenty enough. When the country is handed over to the “giants”, enough is never enough.
Speaking of enough never being enough and of the “giants” that are the ones who run the country and the ones who plunder it, as the bliss of the masses recedes the enmity towards authority grows. But who is the government, and who is it supposed to be? What was the government’s job before the hegemonism became institutional? That takes us back to the movie Gladiator to some of Maximus’ last words, “give it back to the people”, which means to many…democracy. Of course, this is Hollywood’s version of history but one thing that would’ve been great to ask is…who are the people? And didn’t they already have it? Weren’t they the ones in the stands cheering on the deadly games and more than likely the frontier wars as well?
Now democracy is not a new word and the concept of democracy, or government by opinion, is as old as time. In fact, it is even talked about in the Bible, by classic philosophers, and the Founding Fathers. In the modern era, it is the battle cry of the disenfranchised masses and the go-to for hegemonistic politicians.
Democracy, according to Plato, is the last stop on the way to a cruel tyranny, and accordingly to this series, democracism, not to be confused with democratism, is the last stop before the end of this series.