How Long Do Republics Really Last? A Roman Warning for America

The Roman Empire casts a long shadow over history. Depending on how it is measured, Rome lasted anywhere from 500 years to nearly 1,500. The Western Empire, centered in Rome itself, collapsed in 476 CE, five centuries after Augustus first established imperial rule (Heather, 2006). The Eastern continuation, based in Constantinople, endured until 1453, when the Ottomans stormed its walls (Norwich, 1997).

The United States, by contrast, is only 249 years old in 2025. That means America is barely halfway to the Western Empire’s lifespan. If Rome’s long arc is the yardstick, the U.S. is still a young republic. But even young republics can stumble—and America is stumbling hard.

Rome did not collapse because of a single bad ruler or law. It rotted from within. Wealth concentrated in the hands of elites, while ordinary citizens bore the burdens of taxation and war (Goldsworthy, 2009). Political life became more spectacle than substance, dominated by theatrics rather than governance. Military strongmen overshadowed civic institutions, and loyalty to individuals replaced loyalty to the Republic itself (Ward-Perkins, 2005).

Sound familiar?

The fall of Rome was not sudden—it was a slow erosion of trust, legitimacy, and resilience. By the time the Visigoths sacked the city in 410, Rome was already hollowed out. The sack was only the final blow (Gibbon, 1994/1776).

Today, America faces its own version of this rot, and it has a name: MAGA. Like the strongmen of late Rome, MAGA demands loyalty to one man rather than to the Constitution. It glorifies cruelty, excuses corruption, and treats political violence as legitimate (Ben-Ghiat, 2020). MAGA is not the cure for America’s ailments—it is the infection that accelerates decay.

If America is halfway through the Western Roman Empire’s clock, the lesson is urgent: republics rot before they collapse. They fail when citizens stop defending democratic norms and allow authoritarians and profiteers to rewrite the rules.

Rome’s history reminds us that empires are not eternal. They last only as long as citizens are willing to fight for the common good. If we do not confront MAGA with everything we have, America will go the way of Rome.

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References

• Ben-Ghiat, R. (2020). Strongmen: Mussolini to the present. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
• Gibbon, E. (1994). The history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire (Vol. 1). New York: Modern Library. (Original work published 1776)
• Goldsworthy, A. (2009). How Rome fell: Death of a superpower. New Haven: Yale University Press.
• Heather, P. (2006). The fall of the Roman Empire: A new history. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Norwich, J. J. (1997). A short history of Byzantium. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
• Ward-Perkins, B. (2005). The fall of Rome and the end of civilization. Oxford: Oxford University Press.