#fall of civilization

[no2ticonderoga]

[stonedcymro]

The rise and fall of civilizations in the long, broad course of history can be seen to have been largely a function of the integrity and cogency of their supporting canons of myth; for not authority but aspiration is the motivator, builder, and transformer of civilization.

— Joseph Campbell

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

What I love about the original Dawn of the Dead is how civilization has started to fall but it's not quite fallen yet, at least in the first act.

News stations are still on the air, though the evacuation centers they're advertising to viewers are overrun.

The national guard controls the big cities, but there are mutinies in the ranks, desertion, fraggings, every man for himself.

Rednecks roam the countryside in semi-deputized militias/posses, and they're out there brewing coffee and having donuts with all the real soldiers between zombie sightings.

Private airports upstate are still manned, and some powers that be are going after looters and thieves, and the main characters think they can buy fuel, or maybe the airports will give it to them for free when they see they're in a news helicopter with press badges.

The mall still has power and running water (Peter seems to think nuclear power plants can run indefinitely)

[lovenikkiclothes]

Based around the hair ‘Nameless Singer’.

[techniche]

7. The Songhai Empire - Africa's Age of Gold

Today, the Songhai Empire is all but forgotten by history. But this medieval kingdom was once the most powerful force in Africa. Find out how this civilization grew up on the fringes of the Sahara Desert, among some of the most extreme conditions that nature can throw at us. Discover how it grew and flourished, passing through a process known as the imperial cycle, and learn about what ultimately caused its sudden and dramatic collapse.

[natsufatsu]

Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times.”

G. Michael Hopf, ‘Those Who Remain‘

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

If civilization ever collapsed, it wouldn’t just turn into an 8 billion person free for all. Instead, our societies would just break apart into more smaller societies, at the local, county, regional, or state level. Eventually groups would merge and share resources and some weasels capitalist bastards will claw their way back to the top of the hierarchy, creating effectively the same system as before, only those in power would have more direct control over their people, like chiefs or warlords.

If we entered the Mad Max apocalypse, people would still have to do jobs and pay taxes. That’s not just gonna stop because the old civilization did; taxes have been around for as long as civilization itself, so when so-and-so local police officer declares himself king of such-and-such county because he has access to all the guns and riot equipment and an army of inferiors willing to obey his authority, he’s gonna start by sending out muscle to collect taxes and enforce laws. For a while it’ll be might makes right, but eventually enough people will come together in support of one regional leader or another and rules will set back in because that’s what a society is. Society only works because everyone agrees it works; eventually, people will stop fighting and fall back into agreement because it’s easier than every-man-for-himself.

If America fell into civil war tomorrow, everyone would still have social security numbers and fingerprints in a federal database. Eventually, whichever power comes out on top will be able to track you down and make you follow the rules even if you don’t want to. There will never be a clean slate to start over from, everything will evolve naturally from that which came before it. The rich will stay rich, the poor will stay poor, kings and slavers will still rule our lives even if we call them new names like “bosses” and “cops.”

What’s most depressing about the fall of civilization is that it won’t fall very far before landing back on its feet. Only this time, there will be less oversight.

[lizsmemes]

every fking day