>I picked up a copy of Vanity Fair magazine yesterday. They have an excerpt from a new book, "Are We Rome? The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America".
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>I've just glanced at the article so far. But the main premise is that while there are many similarities between ancient Rome and present day USA, one that is overlooked is the privatization of previously public services. This leads to previously unseen levels of corruption for one. And a decrease in the level of service also, once the profit motive sets in.
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>Makes a lot of sense to me.

Sounds like a good book and article. I've got to get a subscription to Vanity Fair.