Pleb!

Wow
Livy is such a snob!

He attributes pretty much all the Campanian and other cities' desire to revolt to the urban poor. And he blames Varro for the defeat at Cannae.

Livy doesn't really entertain the possibility that the 'aristocracy' in the allied cities was solidly pro-Roman or actually Roman, and that the poor had genuine grievances. He also doesn't discuss the pros and cons of the Roman alliance for any of these states.

The reality was that the vast majority of the allies had been coerced into alliance with Rome, either by direct application of force, or by promises of defence against local enemies. Clearly a large number of these 'subject' peoples were desperate to get the Romans off their backs. And probably quite rightly, too.

But Livy seems to treat the whole problem as simply one of social class and wealth. Like a number of other complex issues that he conveniently simplifies by his own crass political atttitudes.