Were the Populares /ourguys/? Who would support Populares and

I guess, but they didn't really give a shit about the plebs, just a way for them to get power as tribunes as oppose to the senate

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>>3249043
I mean I suppose you could say he was.. POPULAR!

ba dum tsh

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>>3249043
populares = populist far-left far-right authoritarian collectivist extremists

optimates = classical liberal radical centrist individualists

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>>3249515
>optimates = classical liberal

The world is not black and white.

The early Populares such as the Gracchus brothers genuinely wanted to help the plebs to fix institutional problems that had arisen within the Republic from over expansion.
With things such as the Patrician class buying up the Plebs land to create mega-estates farmed by recently captured slaves drove up class inequality and simutanously ruined the ability to support an army that was needed to defend the larger Republic. Since only landed Roman citizens could serve.

Later Populares such as Caeser merely played the Plebs off for for his own politcal gain and power, leading to conditions that killed the Republic and created the Empire.

Whilst later Optimates such as Cato the Younger genuinely tried to preserve the stoic ancient Roman traditions to save the Republic.

Republic >>> Empire tbqh

>>3249043
Roman political divisions weren't ideologically motivated. The optimates were simply already established political powerbases that occasionally joined up to keep upstarts down. The populares were merely upstarts banding together to take down established powers.
Often enough it didn't even take one generation for a new man to move from populares to optimates. Cicero switched upon leaving his consulate. Pompey Stabo switched when Sulla offered an alliance.
The opposite happened too: optimates that lost support, either in funds or auctoritas switched to the populares. See Pulcher and Caesar, or arguably even Catilina.

>>3249515

Literally makes no sense

>>3249529
Well, some of their more moderate members inspired classical liberals with their writings.... so there is a quasi connection

We need an Augustus now to purge the oligarchs.

>>3249632
>so there is a quasi connection
Nope, not even that

>Well, some of their more moderate members inspired classical liberals with their writings
Cicero? Because only kind of thing of inspiration I can understand would be optimates protesting against tyrants.

>>3249570
this

>>3249650
>dude muh honourable middle class lmao
Equites like Sejanus were as bad as the plurocrats they replaced.