“He says that the Roman system of tax farming was one of the main reasons the empire collapsed,” I explained. “Taxes in the provinces were collected by private contractors, so the whole business of collecting taxes turned into a giant … Continue reading
“She says that people used to live in peaceful villages,” I was explaining, “as long as society was matriarchal.” “We love to imagine that there was a peaceful golden age at some point in history,” Mr. Magundi said, “but our … Continue reading
“That’s because the French completely botched their revolution,” Mr. Bates said rather smugly. “The thing that sets our American Revolution apart from most other revolutions,” Mr. Magundi replied, “is that it was a conservative revolution: conservative in the root sense … Continue reading
“He says the war was never about slavery,” I explained. “It was about states’ rights.” “It was about one right only,” Mr. Magundi replied: “the right to allow slavery. The southern states worried about states’ rights only because they thought … Continue reading
“I don’t even know what we’re fighting about,” Mrs. Bowman said with a sigh. “Neither does anyone else,” said Mr. Magundi. “For the first year or so, a war is usually about something—a disputed territory, or a principle, or some … Continue reading
