Ancient thinkers always thought the rich posed a greater threat to the republic than the poor: they cling on far more tenaciously to what they have. ‘No tyrant ever conquered a city because he was poor and hungry,’ said Aristotle. If nothing else, history offers us a vast early warning system. Let us hope we are capable of paying it some attention. As winter follows autumn, it is not Trump that I fear most – though he is scary enough. It is whoever might follow him.
