Many have theorized what would happen to the U.S. during the collapse of society or if essential services disappear what would happen? Most likely chaos - which what just about everyone thinks.
Across the Atlantic
Something tells me that this may not be the case everywhere else. It is unfortunately our reliance on so many things that make us weak - also something not entirely new as a concept. This all came to mind with a recent trip to Denmark under my belt. Sure the country has its very big and bustling capital Copenhagen, which just about everyone has at least heard of. But in all reality the majority of the country is flat, quiet farmland with small towns and villages peppered across the landscape like freckles.
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| Decently priced in the U.S., but expensive in DK |
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| Solar Panel Array in Tønder, Denmark |
So this brings to mind the question: what would happen if modern society came to a halt? What if some kind of war broke out? A natural disaster? What would happen to majority of these people? Well for one a huge portion of these people surrounded by solar panels and huge windmills everywhere certainly could keep their lights on longer. As a culture the Danish seem to be more easily content and are usually considered "easy-going." In the office workplace it seems to be that way as well... employees come in around their starting time and leave around 3pm to 4pm most days. I certainly wish I could get away with that back in the U.S.
Many of them just don't require all the luxuries we take for granted everyday. It's an interesting concept while remaining in Western culture. Quite frankly I think the majority of this country could survive very well after the collapse of national government. They have plentiful resources, a very friendly and even-tempered populace and don't require much to continue living their lives. And you have to remember that huge portions of the population managed to survive the Nazi occupation for the duration of World War II.
I think that we have a couple of possible WROL (Without Rule Of Law) scenarios to consider. There is the short-term effect typically caused by natural disasters to consider which, as Hurricane Katrina made clear, is not only possible but in fact quite likely. It's not a matter of "if" but of when and how often. This is the kind of situation I am prepared for. We keep a few weeks worth of water and food on-hand and I am prepared to defend my home from marauders if necessary. New Orleans was also something of a unique case with it's terraformed topography and aging/inadequate infrastructure keeping the sea at arm's length. The sea will not be denied, only delayed and what made it so easy for the sea to claim was the same thing that made efforts to rescue people so difficult. That area will get hit again and anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. Sadly, some of the worst perpetrators of bad behavior during that time were the very people entrusted with keeping peace. From elected officials at the highest levels to cops on the street, dereliction of duty and abandonment of posts ruled the day. I do not believe this would be the case everywhere though. The American southeast is the soft, white underbelly of America. For all of their tough talk I have yet to be impressed with their mettle or resolve when truly tested.
ReplyDeleteHaving said all of that, the one that really scares me is the scenario laid out in Cormack McCarthy's "The Road"; the great calamity that blasts us back into the Iron Age (or earlier). In my own time on earth I have come to understand a few universal truths. One of these truths is that in a WROL environment, bad people have a dramatic advantage over good people. I don't mean "bad" as in flawed. We are all flawed. I am referring to fundamentally ill-natured people. Bad people will do ANYTHING to survive and as a result they will do just that. It is not the good man's instinct to kill people who come begging for food. It IS the bad man's instinct to kill anyone who may have what they need to take that thing. Eventually the bad may come to outnumber the good and even many good people who "carry the fire" (as McCarthy wrote) may, if given enough time, devolve to their basest instincts in a frenzy to avoid being extinguished forever. It will be a war of attrition AND conversion.
The good news is that I see the latter scenario as extremely unlikely. There may be something in between like a volcanic eruption that blots out the sun and affects global food supplies causing severe but eventually reversible conditions but I don't see a global extinction event as what does humanity in. If anything I think it will just be the slow decline of respect, civility and decency between men.