Populares

There is nothing new under the sun.  Mayberry reminded me that a populist movement is as frightening to those who interests it claims to advance as those who's privileges it impinges upon.

At the end of the day, the US is not really that much different than the Roman empire which it modeled itself on.  There always has been an elite running the country, and the elite has always advanced its own agenda ahead of the interests of the rest of the country.  It was easy to forget this during the past thirty years.  We had so much and were so heedless in our use of money and resources that it seemed like the party would never end.  There was so much around that even the low plebes such as the sort who read this screed had enough to satisfy themselves.

Now the party is winding down.  The cornucopia that flowed during the bulk of our lifetimes is slowing down, and the country doesn't quite have enough to make everyone happy any more.  Now is the time when the division between the Optimates and the Populares will start becoming ever more evident.  But you have to remember that these titles, like the term populist or conservative or Randite, or Anarchist are merely convenient tags that we apply to the ruling elite and the factions that divide that class.