Back to the OP - I think you’re suggesting we just need a big empire that does the right thing. Problem is, no one can/will ever agree on what the right thing is. And you can see it today. You and I look at a dictator like Orban, Hitler, Putin, and think oh how evil. But the other half of the world looks and thinks, oh how good, just what we need. In the case of the Roman Empire, I think as harsh as they were, they DID create progress until this crappy little religion started in one of the outlying shit holes and upset the applecart. Go figure.