Economic Differences Between The Patricians And The Plebeian Classes

INTRODUCTION: After a valiant effort of a unified Rome managed to stave off the warring kings that promised conquest, the fruits of victory fell to the aristocratic class of Rome, the patricians, while the plebeians, the lower class, suffered needlessly at the hands of their fellow Roman citizen. There are three key economic and political differences between the patricians and the plebeian classes that would ultimately lead to a plebeian revolt.

FIRST EXAMPLE: Chief among these economic and political differences were the plebeians being excluded, in large part, from the government they were supposedly part of (Morey, n.d.). They were allowed to have a vote in the comitia centuriata, however, they were unable to hold any sort of office within
"The wealthy patricians, for the most part, lived in the city; and their property was protected by the city walls,” (Morey, n.d.). This is in stark contrast to the economic conditions of the plebeians. Despite sacrificing themselves to restore Rome to glory, the plebeians paid a terrible price. Plebeians lived in the country and while fighting for Rome, their homes and farms were destroyed by the many conflicts, (Morey, n.d.). It is important to keep in mind that the plebeians needed their lands, not just because that's where their homes were, but also their very way of life and their way of making money, (PBS, n.d.). Without their homes and land to make money, the plebeians were stuck in a perpetual cycle of poverty, (Morey,
Due to being stuck in a perpetual cycle of poverty, many plebeians attempted to dig themselves out by borrowing money from their much wealthier citizens, the patricians, (Morey, n.d.). However, this in turn turned many of the plebeians into a "debtor class,” (Morey, n.d.). "If [a plebeian] could not pay his debt, he was liable to be arrested, thrown into a dungeon, and made the slave of his creditor,” (Morey, n.d.). The patricians not only made sure that they stayed at the top of the heap, but they also intended to make sure the plebeians could never rise to the top. The patricians wanted them to stay in their perpetual cycle of poverty to keep them focused on repaying their debts, in hopes that they would never rile up and start a conflict. The patricians were