081. Running Rome: 60 Million Subjects, Zero Middle Managers -- James Corke-Webster and Lisa Eberle

In this episode, following up on my conversation about Byzantium with Anthony Kaldellis and leading to my conversation about democratic Athens with Clif Mark, I talk to James Corke-Webster and Lisa Eberle about their work on Roman governance. In contrast to images of Rome as a centralized and bureaucratic monolith, James and Lisa explain how Rome functioned as a network of cities, linked more by soft power than by military might - although the soldiers showed up if the wealth stopped flowing to the imperial city. You can also hear why so many Roman buildings became ruins before they were even finished, about the Roman tradition of mass protest, and how enlightenment thinkers influenced our view of the empire.

Om Podcasten

The core idea of this podcast comes from David Graeber, who wrote that our everyday life is mostly run on anarchism, and at the same time people believe that anarchism doesn’t work. One of these is wrong. I hope to illuminate how our communities already depend on Mutual Aid, in big and small ways. I'll do that by excavating the historical events and cultural trends you already know about, but have never thought about in terms of anarchism. Find me at https://www.everydayanarchism.com