I find it fascinating how many parallels exist between our present and the late Roman Republic: inability to reform, erosion of the system. In the conflict between #Populares and #Optimates, actors (#Marius, #Sulla, #Cinna, the #Gracchi) kept pushing boundaries (multiple consulships, ignoring the cursus honorum, political violence). Each escalation broke rules, further radicalized life. The end: proscriptions, civil war, collapse of the Republic.