By the first century CE, the Roman Empire had expanded so far that maintaining it was draining Rome's wealth, while new territories were becoming increasingly difficult to conquer. Rome's return on investment in complexity was turning negative. How did its leaders respond? By gradually debasing Rome's currency, the denarius, by reducing its silver content with copper and thereby artificially increasing the money supply. With this strategy, Rome's leaders essentially kicked their problems down the road for later generations to deal with.
Rome's strategy. draining the future
