LATE ROMAN SOCIETY AND ECONOMYunacknowledged assumptions about the late Roman system. The current
vogue for comparing the end of empires which has arisen since the collapse
of the Soviet Union and more recently in relation to America, routinely draws
on the ‘end of the Roman empire’ for comparisons, and has served to en-
trench these older views.^63 Much of the literature on the fall of Rome poses
the question ‘Why?’ in terms of radical alternatives: either barbarian invasions
or internal collapse; interestingly, for all his generally gloomy view of the late
Roman system, A.H.M. Jones, opted for the former.
The late Roman administrative and economic system was certainly cum-
bersome and had many defects. Lacking modern communications, the state
could neither operate effi ciently nor respond easily to change. The govern-
ment resorted all too easily to empty and hectoring legislation; offi cials did
what they could, and often enriched themselves; the people learnt how to
cheat the system. There is nothing surprising in that, and the power of inertia
was also great. What is impressive, and remarkable in such a context, is rather
that this highly traditional and very complex society did manage to survive so
well for so long.