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Message: <blockquote data-quote="TheCosmicKid" data-source="post: 7739534" data-attributes="member: 6683613">Roughly:First Punic War: inevitable clash of rival trade powersSecond Punic War: Picked by Carthaginians spoiling for a rematchThird Punic War: Picked by Romans spoiling for a rematch (even though they won last time)"Viking society" spanned three thousand miles and four centuries, and was politically unified for precisely none of that time. Any generalizations about their system of government are going to be riddled with inaccuracy. For instance, I wouldn't hesitate to rate the democracy of the Roman Republic over the nascent Kingdom of Norway -- nobody elected Harald Fairhair.And no ancient attempt at democracy honestly compares to any modern Western republic. I could state the obvious and point out the status of women and slaves, but I could also mention the precipitous drop in political violence, or the regular and orderly transfers of power, or the commitment to this newfangled concept called "human rights". Reading the negativity-dominated news these days, it can be easy to lose perspective on just how far we've actually come.</blockquote>