Surely the essence of the Augustan principate is the fact that it was an alliance between one supreme nobilis, and a plebs bribed with corn doles, sumptuous buildings and entertainments. Oh - and provincial elites who were fed up with having rival legions trampling over their backyards. The early emperors get a bad press chiefly because it was members of the aristocracy who tended to write the epic poetry and the histories. Modern parallels are always treacherous, but perhaps there is a faint foreshadowing of the way in which fascist dictators bypassed the established political elites, and appealed directly for support to "the people". Augustus was, after all, an acknowledged inspiration to Mussolini...