26/11/2025
"when power is the ultimate goal, crush your equals," is not just a dark aphorism; it is a historical formula for absolute dominion, proven time and again by rulers who viewed the world as a zero-sum game where cooperation was weakness and a peer was a threat. The historical record is replete with chilling and effective examples of this strategy, along with the long-term instability it inevitably creates.
The transition of the Roman Republic into an Empire offers a classic study. Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great were the two most powerful equals in the First Triumvirate, each a renowned general and political titan. When their shared ambition could no longer be contained within the same political space, a clash was inevitable. Caesar’s defiant act of crossing the Rubicon River in 49 BC—an illegal declaration of war against his equal, Pompey, and the Senate—was the decisive move. He didn't wait for Pompey to decline; he pursued him across the Mediterranean, ultimately defeating him at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC. The crushing of Pompey eliminated the Republic’s final, most powerful military check, paving Caesar’s way to be declared dictator for life. The ultimate irony, however, is that this strategy bred instability: his remaining peers and former allies, fearing they would be next, assassinated him on the Ides of March.
