Showerthought: What if ancient Rome never fell but just got really into bureaucracy?

I was standing in line at the DMV yesterday for like 45 minutes just to renew my license, and it hit me - the Roman Empire probably fell because they didn't have enough paperwork. Like imagine if they had a centralized database for tracking grain shipments and legion deployments. Maybe they'd have lasted another thousand years lol. Anyone else ever randomly connect modern red tape to historical collapses?

2 comments

2 Comments

lewis.terry1mo ago

Wait, you're telling me the empire that literally invented aqueducts and concrete couldn't figure out a simple filing system for their grain shipments? I've had the same thought standing in line at the tag office, honestly. The sheer volume of paperwork they must have generated just for their military campaigns alone boggles my mind. All that conquered territory and nobody thought to standardize the intake forms. It's kind of sad when you realize the Romans had the engineering chops to build the Colosseum but probably lost track of entire legions because someone forgot to file a triplicate form.

the_mary1mo ago

@lewis.terry you're so right, I was literally thinking the same thing at the bank yesterday when they asked for three different forms of ID to deposit a check. Like if Rome had just invented a good stamp and some carbon paper they could have saved the whole thing.