Can Ancient Rome's Immigration Policy Reframe Today's Refugee Question? With Mary Beard. | Big Think

TL;DR

Rome offers a different perspective on migration and citizenship, where there was no such thing as an illegal migrant and people were granted citizenship freely.

Transcript

I think it’s always very hard to learn lessons from Rome, direct lessons. I don’t think that certainly there’s much where we can say oh look, the Romans did that and we should do it too. There are I have to say quite a lot of things that the Romans did extremely badly. I wouldn’t fancy being a woman in the Roman Empire. I certainly wouldn’t have fa... Read More

Key Insights

• 🧔‍♀️ Rome's treatment of women and slaves serves as a cautionary example of social injustice.
• 🤗 The Roman perspective on migration challenges our current views, highlighting the concept of open borders and free movement of people.
• 😖 Rome's founding myths emphasize a culture that values and accepts migrants and refugees.
• 🫵 Understanding the Romans' different perspective can help put our own views on migration and citizenship into perspective.
• ©️ Although we cannot directly copy Rome's approach, acknowledging alternative perspectives can broaden our understanding.
• 🤗 Rome's open city and welcoming stance towards asylum seekers contrast with the challenges faced in today's world.
• 😱 The Romans' reaction to our current migration crisis would likely be a mixture of astonishment and horror.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did Rome treat women and slaves in the Roman Empire?

The Romans treated women and slaves poorly, making it a place where being a woman or a slave would be undesirable.

Q: How did the Romans approach migration and citizenship?

The Romans had a different view of migration and citizenship, with no notion of illegal migrants and freely granting citizenship to those who sought it.

Q: Was there a citizenship test or requirements in Rome?

No, there were no citizenship tests or requirements in Rome. Citizenship was granted by the Romans without the need for saluting the flag, singing the national anthem, or paying fees.

Q: How did Rome view its origins in terms of refugees and asylum seekers?

Rome imagined its origins as a home for refugees and asylum seekers, with founding myths depicting the city as a place of asylum and refuge for those fleeing.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The Romans offer an anti-model of how to treat women and the conquered, highlighting a negative aspect of their society.

• Rome's approach to migration and citizenship was vastly different from the current world, with no concept of illegal migrants and free movement of people.

• Rome's founding myths revolved around being a home for refugees and asylum seekers, emphasizing their origin as a culture of migrants.