Optimateism

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"The best political community is formed by citizens of the middle class, but governance should lie with those most capable of virtue."

"True glory strikes root, and even extends itself; All false pretensions fall as do flowers, nor can anything feigned be lasting."

Optimateism is an authoritarian right ideology rooted in the philosophical and political traditions of the Optimate faction of the Roman Republic. The Optimates, a conservative and aristocratic group, championed the supremacy of the senatorial class and sought to uphold the power of the traditional Roman elite against the populist reforms advocated by the Populares. Adherents of Optimateism idealize the societal hierarchies and institutional structures of ancient Rome, emphasizing a rigid class system, the preservation of aristocratic privileges, and the concentration of power in the hands of a ruling elite. They argue that such a framework ensures stability, continuity, and order, resisting the destabilizing effects of Demagoguery, Egalitarianism, and widespread political enfranchisement. Optimateism promotes a worldview where authority is centralized, tradition is paramount, and governance is conducted by a select, highly educated, and morally superior elite who are seen as the rightful stewards of the state. This ideology often invokes the moral and civic virtues of ancient Rome, such as discipline, duty, and loyalty to the state, while viewing democratic movements and egalitarian policies as threats to social cohesion and historical continuity. Consequently, Optimateism stands in opposition to liberal democratic ideals, advocating instead for a return to a more hierarchical and structured form of governance inspired by antiquity.

Foundations and Beliefs

The beliefs of the optimate faction of the roman republic were a form of conservatism as they wanted to preserve the traditions of the republic. Another belief was aristocracy as they believed in the supremacy of the patricians. They also believed in mos majorum which was the unwritten code of the republic from which the Romans derived their social norms

History

Optimateism started as a reaction against the Gracchi brothers' land reforms and other stuff the Gracchi did like breaking mos majorum. After Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio killed Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus killed himself, the republic was divided between the optimates and populares for about 80 years. The height of their power was during the dictatorship of Lucius Cornelius Sulla during 82-81 BC to 80 BC. Sulla enacted many conservative reforms; He stripped the assemblies of nearly all power, raised the number of members of the Senate from 300 to 600, and settled thousands of soldiers in northern Italy. He began a purge, known as Sulla's proscription, to eliminate his opponents in the aftermath of his victory in the civil war of 83–82 BC. A large number of "undesirables" were executed via proscriptions. The proscription was just one element of the repression organised by Sulla. He concurrently ordered many show trials, summary executions, confiscations of property, and even the massacre of the Samnites, but they were not part of the proscription, which only targeted the Roman elite. The sons of proscribed men were also targeted; They lost their civic rights and were forced into exile. Several attempts were made to rehabilitate the proscribed and their descendants, especially by Julius Caesar, but were mostly unsuccessful. Their full rehabilitation only took place in 49 BC, after Caesar took control of Rome during his civil war.

As promised, when his tasks were complete, Sulla returned his powers in 79 BC and withdrew to his country villa near Puteoli to be with his family. When he walked home after his retirement, nobody dared to attack, insult or berate him for his actions when he was a dictator. Plutarch states in his "Life of Sulla" that he retired to a life spent in dissolute luxuries, and he "consorted with actresses, harpists, and theatrical people, drinking with them on couches all day long." From this distance, Sulla remained out of the day-to-day political activities in Rome, intervening only a few times when his policies were involved. He died a year later in 78 BC. Sulla's body was cremated and his ashes placed in his tomb in the Campus Martius. An epitaph, which Sulla composed himself, was inscribed onto the tomb, reading, "No friend ever served me, and no enemy ever wronged me, whom I have not repaid in full." Plutarch claims he had seen Sulla's personal motto carved on his tomb on the Campus Martius. The personal motto was "no better friend, no worse enemy."

Personality and Behavior

Optimateism is more than meets the eye. He is often violent, very rich, and also extremely intelligent and manipulative. He can appear as the first form of Senatorialism.

How to draw

Flag of Optimateism
  1. Draw a circle
  2. Color the left side of the ball blue and the right side white
  3. Draw a senate house in the top left corner
  4. Draw eyes and then you're done!
Color NameHEXRGB
 Blue#004FABrgb(0, 79, 171)
 White#FFFFFFrgb(255, 255, 255)


Relationships

Senate members

Good plebs

  • American Democratism and American Republicanism - Your hatred for populism is admirable, but you need to go further. Oh crap the second one turned populist Post-2016.
  • Trumpism - ...Not bad, actually. For a populist.
  • Agrarianism - I like salt more than grain, the salt must flow!
  • Avaritionism - Someone needs to do the dirty job of carrying out the proscriptions. And I will kill Caesar by myself, anyway.
  • Autocracy - The position of a dictator is now abolished to prevent another Caesar, but I worked well with provisional dictatorships for a long time, particularly Sulla.

STAB TARGET

  • Democracy - We are a republic not a democracy.
  • Populareism - Pleb cuck!
  • Left-Wing Populism - His contemporary version.
  • Monarchism - Aren't you that plebeian Caesarist again?
  • Monarcho-Socialism - A pleb AND a monarchist wtf?
  • Imperialism - We are overstretched already more land will make the republic unstable! Excuse me while I stuff my Latifundia with your slaves.
  • Caesarism - SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS! *stabs Caesar in the scrotum*
  • Augustus - NO NO NO NO-*Proscribed and executed*

Further information

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