Archived Articles by Larry Kelley
A compilation of all Larry Kelley’s published articles, blog posts and opinions.
Immutable Law #9
When a civilization accepts the propaganda of its enemy as truth, it has reached the far side of appeasement and capitulation is nigh. In 340 BC the Athenian ambassadors to Macedon, who had negotiated the Peace of Philocrates, returned to Athens and addressed the Assembly. They extolled the virtues and [...]
Immutable Law #8
Debasing the currency always destabilizes the governing authority. During the late second century and early third centuries AD several Roman Emperors attempted to inflate the Empire’s wealth. They recalled some of the outstanding gold coinage, secretly melted it down, and reissued it with leaden cores. In each case, this tactic [...]
Immutable Law #7
With the loss of fiscal solvency comes a loss of sovereignty. After the fall of the Roman Empire of the West in AD 476, the Emperor Justinian came to power in Constantinople, the capital of the still existent Roman Empire of the East. With the help of some able generals, [...]
Immutable Law #6
To hold territory, a state must be populated by those loyal to the central authority. When immigration overwhelms assimilation, the fall is predicted. In the summer of 376 AD, the Roman Emperor, Valens, agreed to allow a very large tribe of Goths to settle in Thrace. He could not have [...]
Immutable Law #5
When a free people, through taxation, is deprived of its ability to acquire wealth and property, collapse is presaged. Crushing taxation imposed upon the middle and lower class Romans contributed to the loss of the Roman provinces of Gaul, Iberia, and North Africa to the German invaders of the fifth [...]
Immutable Law #4
If a people cannot avoid continuous internal warfare, they will have a new order imposed from without. As the fifth century wore on, leading to the final disappearance of Roman governance in Western Europe, Roman armies continued their long suffering tradition of proclaiming their generals Emperor. While vast portions of [...]