He truly was an evil human being
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Unfortunately not a new concept, and the increasing military tie in makes it all the more troubling.
IIRC it was cheaper for the Roman elite to do the bread and circuses than deal with the aftermath of the headclass rioting and looting.
It was quite effective towards the end of the Republic because those would gather votes for the elite for their run up the Cursus Honorum, then they’d go pillage their provinces for a year or 2 afterwards to recoup the cost of putting on their games and giving out food.