• @Ashyr@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    192 months ago

    Rome famously used free wheat and entertainment to keep the plebeians placated.

    Started with Gracchus giving out free food and escalated to food and entertainment to keep the population happy.

    Bread and circuses has become an enduring phrase as a result.

    • @PhlubbaDubba@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      122 months ago

      Which is kinda asinine, “what a populist panderer, fulfilling the need of a society for adequate food provision and cultural enrichment!”

      Bread and circuses always sounds like a refrain of people who disdain those with simpler priorities and ambitions than them.