History never repeats exactly, but recurring patterns are always present. Technology has advanced, but human nature hasn't changed that much over the centuries. Does any of this sound familiar?

"In 58 B.C., Clodius...began distributing the grain for free. The result was a sharp increase in the influx of rural poor into Rome, as well as the freeing of many slaves so that they too would qualify for the dole. By the time of Julius Caesar [a decade later], some 320,000 people were receiving free grain...

[Under the Caesars] as the private wealth of the Roman Empire was gradually confiscated or taxed away, driven away, or hidden, economic growth slowed to a virtual standstill. Moreover, once the wealthy were no longer able to pay the state's bills, the burden inexorably fell onto the lower classes, so that average people suffered as well from the deteriorating economic conditions...

At this point, in the third century A.D., the money economy completely broke down. Yet the military demands of the state remained high... Moreover, it was now explicitly understood by everyone that the Emperor's power and position depended entirely on the support of the army. Thus, the army's needs required satisfaction above all else, regardless of the consequences to the private economy.

With the collapse of the money economy, the normal system of taxation also broke down. This forced the state to directly appropriate whatever resources it needed wherever they could be found. Food and cattle, for example, were requisitioned directly from farmers. Other producers were similarly liable for whatever the army might need. The result, of course, was chaos... Eventually, the state was forced to compel individuals to continue working and producing... Farmers were tied to the land, as were their children, and similar demands were made on all other workers, producers, and artisans as well. Even soldiers were required to remain soldiers for life, and their sons compelled to follow them."

-- Bruce Bartlett article

The Judeo-Roman empire of today, now global in scope, will soon reach its inevitable climax and then it will collapse. What follows is anyone's guess.