Sorry people got to disagree and argue the point in favour of Civilisation standing for as long as possible. Day of the Triffids was written in 1956, It was a different world, Fab book that it is, its got a very twee and middle English flavour Same with Terry Nations survivors, They are products of a different era.
There was a American series recently called Jericho which tacked the end of Civilisation in a more modern manner. The fall of civilisation will look more like “ Mad Max” or “Threads” than Survivors.
I have a bit of a bleak and cynical outlook about possible breakdown of civilisation There is one section of society that is perfectly well equipped to deal with a breakdown of law and order. The criminalgs, I'm not talking about a few hoodies, But the career criminals, Yardies, Triads,every culture and country has them, They would be the fastest to adapt, and also the ones with the easiest access to weapons and the ones with less moramoral compunction using them on their neighbours. The towns and cities would become battlegrounds, and all the stores of food lying around in whorehouses and supermarkets would either be destroyed or be claimed by the most organised gangs. - not a pretty prospect.
Or a Military coup, And disciplined tho they are the Surviving troops. Would probably take rather than trade.
Small villages could fare better, if they could stay off the radar of refugees, marauders and scavengers. It would require the banding together of all the members of the village, where the local Mayor/Lord would take on the heavy burden of managing the community-think Lord Summerisle in The Wickerman. Someone who was already used to making those sort of decisions, If your a Photocopier repairman then don't expect yourself to suddenly be promoted to village feudal ruler! What are your qualifications? Like it or not the local Lord is more suited to management of a small community than you are. Welcome back to serfdom. :( If you have skills that are translatable into a post apocalyptic age then your lucky, a knowledge of Radio's, Electrician, Medicine, Midwifery, Farming. But those are skills that can be learned and applied now, no need to wait for something that may not happen.
OK so what about a one off, a isolated place that you and your family could move to, kill the existing occupants!!! and maybe if your lucky make it through the first winter, Maybe you beat the odds and don't fall ill, you have a clean water supply, no dysentery, cholera, typhoid, No illnesses from Tetanus, or broken limbs. No fevers running out of control than can be treated because no one its producing Antibiotics or Aspirin.
The only way to survive and move forward would be a “strength in numbers” scenario, a village or community able to do more than just subsidence farming, a society of dozens* at least able to support, teachers, doctors and other skilled members who wouldn't have to spend all day farming. And communication too, the ability to communicate to plan to listen to other groups, to keep a eye and a ear out for Marauders-a lessening threat as the years pass, but how many years of near starvation would strip away peoples decency, turning them from lucky survivors into...well rape and pillage spring to mind. A caravan of marauders would be led by a “warlord” who would have reached that position by being more violent and cunning than his competitors. A charismatic leader, someone who would maybe have to be negotiated with and placated.
Going back to Day of the Triffids the book ends with Bill and Family on the run from the “Militia” who decided that Bills farm was to be taken over and turned into a “camp” and they would have taken Susan as a hostage..and that the twee 1950's version of events.
Me I love technology and I enjoy being part of Civilisation. I have the freedom to practice my beliefs, without being burnt as a Witch, I can make the choice to treat a ailment with natural remedies or take a trip to the Doctors/Hospital. I can bake my own bread or buy it from Asda. Ok so I never have enough money and I gripe every time the garage puts petrol up by 2p a litre, But I know no one is going to try and take my car off me, or stab me for the tank on petrol it contains.....yeah and I am taking Hoodies and Druggies into that equation.
In a Civilised society life is valued, in a uncivilised society life is cheap. I'd survive a apocalpse (barring illness) and could translate my skills over, but to be honest I really prefer it here with hot and cold running elecricity.
*All all the people politics, that go with larger communities.
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