roman empire

The Roman Empire and the Post Office: Lessons

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A recent story on OPB’s “Marketplace about the importance of the post office made a reference to a book by Winifred Gallagher called “How the Post Office Created America.” The book turned out to be a fascinating read.

An excerpt in the story struck me: “As radical an experiment as America itself, the post was the incubator for our uniquely lively, disputatious culture of innovative ideas and uncensored opinions. With astonishing speed, it established the United States as the world’s information-and-communications superpower.”

As imperfect as this country is, our ability to connect and move is fundamental to our ability to understand each other, to pursue our dreams and to remain connected to our communities. We have built interstates and roads and trains and bridges and the post office--all of which have connected people and allowed greater access to knowledge.

The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775. In 1792, the Postal Act passed by Congress emphasized its public role by setting low rates for mailing cheap, uncensored newspapers (subsidized by more expensive letters). Over the next 150 years, the post office responded to the needs of the public – adding home delivery in cities and rural areas by 1899 and parcel delivery in 1913. Not only did parcel delivery give millions of Americans access to new products, it allowed a few enterprising parents to send their children by post, since it was cheaper than a train ticket. Despite a $40 million deficit in 1914 (today’s equivalent of $1B), the government continued to subsidize the post office because it was essential to connecting and informing people.

Which brings me to the Romans. The Romans were engineers, innovators and builders. They invested massively in creating and building transformative infrastructure. They built more than 250,000 miles of roads (the equivalent of the National Highway system in the U.S.) and thousands of  aqueducts that brought running water to cities. Over time, because of constant wars, overspending, a widening gap between the rich and poor and political corruption, they stopped inventing and investing. They relied on what they had done instead of finding new technologies. They did not adapt.

This election season, I think we were reminded anew how important our postal service is. Millions of people get their prescriptions by mail, it is often the only delivery option in rural areas, and it is allowing many, many millions of people to vote safely during a pandemic. Yet, our government is neither investing in maintaining nor evolving the service it provides.

To me, the lesson from the Romans is not in their decline and subsequent lack of investment in infrastructure. What I ponder is what we could learn from an empire that thrived for 1,000 years by investing in new ways to improve lives and connect people.

— Kaye Gardner-O’Kearny