Imperial monopolies provided peace and stability, but by seeking to preserve the status quo also tended to stifle experimentation and dissent. The disintegration of the Roman empire freed Europe from rule by a single power. But you argue that Rome’s dramatic collapse was actually the best thing that ever happened. The collapse of the Roman Empire is considered by many to be one of the greatest disasters in history. He also edited The Science of Roman History: Biology, Climate and the Future of the Past (2018). Grossman Fellow in Human Biology, is author of Escape from Rome: The Failure of Empire and the Road to Prosperity (2019). Scheidel, the Dickason Professor in the Humanities and a Catherine R. Freed from the clutches of an imperial monopoly, Europeans experimented and competed, innovated and collaborated – all preconditions for the world we now inhabit, he said. Scheidel discusses in a new book why the Roman Empire was never rebuilt and how pivotal its absence was for modern economic growth, the Industrial Revolution and worldwide Western expansion. Stanford historian Walter Scheidel calls the fall of Rome the “great escape.” (Image credit: Daniel Hinterramskogler)
