#166 - Freddie New - How Governments Destroy Money and Empires (The Lessons From Rome)

In this episode of The Peter McCormack Show, Freddie New draws powerful parallels between the fall of the Roman Empire and the current state of Western democracies, particularly focusing on currency debasement as a central driver of societal collapse. He traces the decline of Rome's silver denarius from Marcus Aurelius to Diocletian, showing how inflation eroded purchasing power to just 3% of its original value—a trajectory eerily mirrored by the pound sterling's 95-96% loss in value over the past century. The discussion explores how emperors, like modern governments, became trapped in a cycle of printing money to pay the military, leading to hyperinflation, social decay, and institutional failure. Freddie argues that today’s 'army' is not soldiers but welfare-dependent populations and state workers who vote for parties that sustain their benefits, creating a self-perpetuating system of soft defaults and moral hazard. He critiques the current economic model as one of 'grift,' where rules are exploited for personal gain, and warns that the collapse won't be dramatic but insidious—manifesting as shrinking homes, longer work hours, declining relationships, and a hollowed-out sense of purpose, as described in T.S. Eliot’s 'The Hollow Men.' Despite the bleak outlook, Freddie holds hope in the possibility of a Cincinnatus-like leader—someone who can restore hard money, rebuild infrastructure, and lead a national renaissance, with Bitcoin and the Lightning Network emerging as tools for individual sovereignty in a digital age.