The Roman economy, both urban and rural, is slave-based. Both areas experience the sense of alienation brought about by slavery disrupting any sense of community in either area. The practice of manumission and co-optation means the native born Romans, or the ruling class, are numerically now a minority. The majority of the population consists of aliens who are despised by the ruling elite.
The plebeians view the civic freedom of the upper class as a threat to their own personal freedom. They have more faith in one-man-rule and a ruler like Augustus. They accept the sovereignal freedom of the emperor because it poses less of a threat to their own personal freedom than does the civic freedom of the upper class. Augustus exhibits concern for the masses. Someone like Cicero does not......
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