I'm going to preface this thread by pointing out that I'll be discussing late-game dialogue which could be considered spoilers. So, if you haven't been to The Fort yet you should probably stop reading.

I was reading http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1205437-new-vegas-overrated/ which turned to a discussion of The Pitt's Ashur in comparison to the Caesar and the Legion, and it struck me that after several playthroughs I don't feel that I understand Caesar's motivations for his empire. What I've taken from his length dialogues (practically monologues) is that he wants humanity to survive, and has taken a "cruel to be kind" approach because he believes it to be the only method of surviving the harshness of the post-apocalyptic world. But, to what end? What Caesar seems to lack is a vision for the future.

Consider Benny: through dialogue he explains that he's opportunistic and power-driven. Benny's story of how he took control of the Chairman is anologous of his attempt to wrest control from House. His motivations are to increase his influence, to attain a more comfortable position in life and to undo what he perceives as an injustice in House taking control of the Strip. His base motivation is ego, which is why he explains his plan to the Courier when his death appears imminent ("it's called having a legacy"). He's a well-realised character with believable motivations and actions consistent with them.

Now, back to Caesar. Caesar does have a clear idea of what he's doing right now and in the immediate future, namely rolling up the south-western USA into his empire. His motivation (as he states it) is to ensure the continuation of the human race by forcing them into a competitive culture, thereby forcing natural selection to promote the strongest of the species. But supposing he conquers the NCR, what then? His general distaste for the NCR is understandable, as he sees it as a creaking bureaucracy which he feels is better supplanted with an autocracy to provide singular direction (this is fairly similar to his namesake's motivations). The problem is that he doesn't appear to have a greater direction; there's no indication of what he intends his new American empire to achieve once everyone has been absorbed.

Going back to Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire, even under Julius Caesar's control there was a significant segment of society who practiced intellectual pursuits: doctors, historians, artisans, etc. The Legion is neither shown nor described to have any of these. Despite Caesar's start in the Followers (or more likely because of it) there seems to be no education within the Legion of non-martial nature. The only Legion healer of any description in the game is a slave who learnt her trade outside the Legion. Moreover, they clearly lack any dedicated doctors as evidenced by Caesar's medical condition and his lack not only of treatment but even diagnosis. We don't learn of any Legion scholars, or even encounter any non-military personnel. This is somewhat excusable as the Legion force in the game is meant to be an army preparing to assault Hoover Dam, however none of the characters mention any of these things existing further East either.

So then, what of Caesar's motivations? His claims of altruism are overstated in the least, since we see explicit suffering within the empire (the slaves present at the Fort and Cottonwood Cove). He sees that there are faults in the NCR's leadership, but his solution is to eradicate what traditional social structures have reemerged since the war. Unlike Benny, he doesn't appear to be acting for his own comfort, since his tent shows little in the way of luxury (granted, a bed and chair surpass what most others have, but not greatly).

There appear to be two possible explanations for his march westward: either he wishes to fulfill a megalomaniacal urge to rule what remains of humanity, or he does truely believe that his new culture (what little of it there is) is the only way for humanity to survive and thrive, yet lacks the long-term perspective to realise such a culture will only serve to continue its own existence and eventually either stagnate or be usurped by another with a stronger vision. In either case, it's hard to justifiably support his goals.

Ceasers just a crazy freak. He trys to emulate the roman empire but he does everything so wrong. He has the worst ideals ever. Let alone he thinks hes a god or something.

I don't think Caesar is working to serve his people, but to create an everlasting, unified empire. Caesar says he wants a people with no greater duty than to the state, so I guess he wants his people to give up their sense of self to build a collective sense of community with the only goal being to serve the empire. If a person's goals only serve the state, and not himself, then it makes sense that that person should not have any intellectual persuits or goals of bettering themselves when they should be working for the empire and only the empire. I guess he thinks it's truly the only hope for humanity's long-term survival.

Anyway, that's my two cents, it sounds like Caesar has similar ideals to Sofia Lamb from Bioshock 2.

The Legion could have been built way better than they are now. To me they are too one dimensional.

A better model could have been done if the writer(s) looked to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwyEC6zbCzA for inspiration of a great character and faction, particlularly Thulsa Doom.

If everyone is denied intellectual persuits, then the state stays dumb and backwards. As barbaric as Ancient Rome was, they had a vested interest in advancement in the arts and sciences.

Caesar just wants everyone to be a slave to the state....and he sees anyone trying to not be ignorant as a threat to the state and him since he is obsessed with the idea of the state protecting its dictator.

He's just a meglomaniac that is on the same level as Stalin and Mao.

I believ Caesar says after he failed with the followers by helping the tribals, he wanted unify them, and destroy all there previous beliefs, so he adapted some Roman idea, where every one he conquered would have their previous beliefs demolished, and then they would basically worship the state of Rome. Obviously he didn't have a Rome, so that is his goal for taking New Vegas to have a Rome.

He also says that the NCR will fall apart eventually and he is just helping that inevitable cause.

Something else he said caught my mind too. He says that with New Vegas theres, he would sort of settle down and have his military protect his citizens. So I'm thinking he isn't that evil he just has bad intentions at getting what he wants.