I thought pride came before the fall.

Translation: once government has become so corrupt that they severly screw the pooch regarding politics, economy, disasters and the handling of, society has a tendency to fall apart, mostly due to normalizing bread and circus leads people to become feral.

This isn't just true for Roman's, but all of human history - as far back as we can go.

This notion might excite libertarians, except for the fact that a libertarian government would screw the economy even faster. It would be a speed run to the bottom.

Remember: it might have been Nero who burned down Rome, but Caeser handed him the matches.