Distraction in the service of Deviousness- The Bread and Circus
“Governments don’t want a population capable of critical thinking. They want obedient workers… It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it.”
– George Carlin
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“Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command… now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.”
– Juvenal
Great Britain gave the Chinese opium. In America we have the NFL, doom scrolling and polymarket. In Rome they had the coliseum. The Soviet Union? I guess they had the Gulag. Whether it is through a carrot (distraction) or a stick (hard labor in Siberia) a government needs mechanisms to maintain a compliant, agreeable, and distracted population as it seeks to execute its plans.
Machiavelli (Chapter 7 of the Prince) advised leaders that being both feared and loved is ideal. But it is much safer for a leader to be feared if they cannot be both. Democratic governments try to openly focus on love and openness for fear of repercussions faced during the next election if they don’t win over the hearts of the population. Even authoritarian governments know that the population has a tipping point and that a balance must be struck. To the naked eye government propaganda will portray a utopian happy citizenry but behind the scenes crafty statesmen take Machiavelli’s counsel to heart.
While the imperium in Rome was more absolute than modern democracies, there was still a threat of dissension from a large urban population should expectations not be met. Just like the fictional character Senator Gracchus said in Gladiator, “Rome is the mob. Conjure magic for them, and they’ll be distracted. Take away their freedom, and still, they’ll roar. The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the Senate; it’s the sand of the Colosseum.” In Rome there were two distinct ways to keep the population happy, the bread and the circuses.
The Roman Bread
Let’s start with the bread. Yes, it was literally bread and it came in the form of generous grain doles supplied from places like Sicily, Egypt, and even as far away as the Crimean peninsula. Known as the Cura Annonae it was essentially a massive state run welfare program. At its peak it supported approximately 1 million people and consumed up to 30% of overall grain production. (link)
Like with most social programs it started off to address a temporary emergency or need. In this case it was to support indebted and dispossessed citizen-farmers at the end of the Republic. Soon enough it became a permanent expectation. Augustus reluctantly maintained it and it expanded under later Emperors. It started off simply as grain rations but towards the end of the Empire it evolved to Bread and Olive Oil. Maybe by that time the citizens had become so dependent that they even lost the skill of baking bread?
It was a well oiled bread making machine. At its peak qualifying citizens received a tesserae or token that could be reimbursed for 5 modii (approximately 73lbs) of grain per month. The Hunger Games books/movies do a pretty good job depicting something similar.
Why the need for such a program? You could say that things changed when the Government pushed small farmers off their land so that they could scale production and profits through latifundias. These large estates concentrated wealth into the hands of a small elite and forced the once proud spiritual ‘descendants’ of Cincinnatus to seek new opportunities in the ever growing city of Rome.
This migration from the rural areas of Italy led to a rapidly growing and anxious urban population within Rome. Some joined the military and others joined a trade. But there were only so many opportunities and the last thing an Emperor and his Senate wanted was a large population within the city walls who were dissatisfied with their economic prospects. At the very least the state sponsored bread kept the mouths fed.
The Roman Circus
That solved one problem but what about those citizens who couldn’t find a decent paying job? The Emperors probably ran the calculus and determined it was cheaper to keep these people distracted than it was to provide meaningful employment. Hence the second component, the circus.
Most people think of Gladiatorial events when it comes to distractions. This would be correct but they were far from the only attraction. Gladiators were expensive to train and most of these events had to be sponsored by wealthy benefactors or politicians looking to curry favor. These were exceptionally expensive and were typically only held a few times a year.
Just as, if not, more popular were the chariot races. They could cram up to 64 days of races each year and each day could have up to 24 races. The main home for these races was the Circus Maximus.This venue completely dwarfed the Coliseum (150k people could attend an event) and popular riders were among the biggest celebrities in the Empire. Among the most famous was Gaius Appuleius Diocles and historians figured that he earned over 38 million sesterces (Approximately $20 million USD) throughout his career.
The final key distraction for the average citizen was the theatre. While not quite as renowned as their Greek predecessors you could still expect each Roman settlement of any note to contain their own theatre or odeon. While you still might get the Greek classics like Sophocles, Euripides, or Aristophanes the populace liked to also revel in hometown heroes like Plautus, Terrence and Seneca. The most famous play was Plautus’s Menaechmi and it served as a principle inspiration for Shakespeares Comedy of Errors.
The Bread and Circus template was successful and modern governments have taken note. It has been adopted in one form or another by everyone from the British to North Korea. For purposes of our discussion we will focus on the United States.
The American Bread
Like the early Republic, the foundational myths of America are replete with virtuous farmers who valued honor, hearth, hardiness and their interpretation of basic rights. Even Washington was compared to Cincinnatus. But like Rome, America evolved. The open plains and ranchers were replaced by burgeoning cities, international bankers, and aspirations of international dominance.
Fueled by the Industrial Revolution of the late-1800’s the US experienced what is called Urban Transition. With that transition came a change in values from qualities like self sufficiency and rugged individualization to specialization and conformity. Americans were now living in cities and with that came a need for new and increased social programs.
Let’s start with the Bread and let’s start with a specific year, 1913. That year, thanks to Woodrow Wilson, led to the creation of two things that have forever shaped the United States- the introduction of the Income Tax and the creation of the Federal Reserve. That greatly expanded the role of the government and changed the relationship between Washington and the average citizen. The government was now more reliant on the citizen, at least their money, and the citizen now expected more of the government.
Up through the 1920’s there was little in the way of entitlement programs. Charity was still handled through private organizations and within the community. But things changed with the Great Depression and FDR. Like Wilson before him, Roosevelt envisioned a more expansive role for the US government.
The key initial push was the New Deal. While its primary role was to employ citizens during the depression it still has a footprint today. The more lasting legacy during his Presidency was the introduction of Social Security in 1935. It is now considered an untouchable right and currently makes up around 21% of the overall US budget.
Further expansions took place under Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) in the 1960’s with Great Society programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP. This is considered a critical safety net for the lower end of society that is struggling to make ends meet. Clinton tried some welfare program reforms during his administration but once entrenched, these types of programs are hard to shrink. There’s a reason why the Romans didn’t stop passing out the bread. Our politicians know this as well and will generally keep these programs in place if they want to be reelected.
And like the late Roman Empire, the American Empire is saddled with debt. Between Military expenditures and social programs the government relies on a tax base to keep things going. Some day this bill is going to come due but until then Congress will just either ignore this reality or continue their game of chicken.
But before I move on to the circuses portion of the essay, let me plant this little seed in your head.
“The key element of social control is the strategy of distraction that is to divert public attention from important issues and changes decided by political and economic elites, through the technique of flood or flooding continuous distractions and insignificant information.” – Noam Chomsky*
The American Circus
The wealth of America is immense and as the government expanded it became a fattened goose for greedy businessmen to feast upon through their purchase of politicians. The modern model started with Tammany Hall but has been expanded and perfected through special interests and protections offered by things like Citizens United.
It would shock the average citizen to know how much power the Pharmaceutical industry, Military Industrial Complex or even foreign groups like AIPAC have on the shaping of US policy. If you don’t believe me then check this out. Those in power know this and they go to great lengths to prevent this knowledge from making it to main street.
The internet makes it hard to hide most activities and that is a good thing. At least right now you can still track the digital trail of someone with relative ease. With that in mind most major players know how to distract and confuse with misdirection. This takes many forms today and is usually a private-public partnership. This can include but isn’t limited to things like:
- The NFL and its active partnership with the Military to foster patriotism and sell the next war.
- All major sports and their new found relationship and profit center in the form of gambling.
- The expansion of betting sites from sports to just about everything with prediction market sites.
- An internet and social media environment that is so addictive that the figures in Silicon Valley developing these platforms won’t let their children use them.
- An 24 hour Cable ecosystem that distracts us from the true source of our problems by framing everything in a left-right paradigm.
- The insane TMZ and influencer culture that sucks up countless hours of available hours with inane and pointless celebrity babble.
The government and those who influence/buy those in government know that all of the items above distract us from more seriously scrutinizing their actions. These distractions also placate us by offering simple pleasures that speak to our biases and pleasures. It’s hard to do focused deep dives into subjects when the prospect of three hours of doomscrolling seems so appealing.
That’s certainly not to say that all media, games, or websites are deliberate attempts to distract us from the nefarious deeds of others, but the government does have a track record of getting involved in misinformation or other efforts to shape a narrative to the public. If you don’t believe me just check out Operation Mockingbird, Black Cube, or look at the Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal. There are plenty of examples where the Government is either trying to hide something from you or steer your sentiment in a specific direction.
What do we make of all of it?
What is the lesson, if any, in all of this? I guess it is that we are well served to have a healthy amount of skepticism about government programs designed to appease the public. Take a deeper look and ask why would these programs exist? Could it be to engender simple and blind loyalty to a political party, distract us from other activities, or even to fulfill the wishes of a special interest?
Ultimately, where there is money there is power. And in their quest to obtain both people will go to great and evil lengths. A moral public will usually stand against the actions of these kinds of people. But if the public doesn’t know what is truly going on or is distracted, where is the outcry and the opposition? And that could be the point of why they give us the bread and the circus. They don’t want us truly aware of what is really happening.
Additional Resources:
- Augustus and fabricated grain shortage- link
- Economic issues created by Latifundia model- link
- Cool article from the University of Chicago on Gladiators- link
- Good article that covers how the CIA manipulated the media through Operation Mockingbird- link
* Pretty ironic quote given that Chomsky was friends with Jeffrey Epstein (link)