PALLAS COMITATUS

The world order that has prevailed since the end of WW2, perhaps going all the way back to Westphalia, is tearing itself to pieces before our eyes. 

This level of entropy is causing a lot of Men to reflect on where they belong and with whom their loyalties should lie. It is hard for us now to imagine a world where our obligations aren’t tangled in a snarled mess of conflicting and abstracted allegiances. 

We can use the past to inform the direction we should take. For much of history you took care of your kith and kin, and beyond that you sought oath-sworn brothers whose example would drive you forward in a constant struggle for self-mastery.   

I often read about the fall of the Roman Empire because I see many parallels with our current situation. The answers I seek are on the micro scale: How did men respond to the crumbling of order? Of identity itself?

Are you a still Roman when Rome itself is no more? What about Men on the periphery, Men who were only ever reluctantly imperial subjects to begin with? 

How did they organize themselves? How did they exist in the liminal space between a state still desperately trying to prove legitimacy through imposition of its will, and the chaos streaming in through the cracks in its capability.