Thus we see one aspect of the systemic problem in Italy – the disenfranchisement and subsequent alienation of the poor. The second aspect of this disenfranchisement was that though they had almost completely lost their representation in formal politics, this certainly did not mean that the poor lost their ability to influence events. If the dominiatio Sullae had taught anything, it was that the sword was mightier than the constitution, and the men wielding those swords were the very men who were no longer represented in the formal political process – the common people of Italy.
