The current recession is edging on the side of depression, and I don't see any small-scale riots going on. How do you figure millions would die from "unrest"? Most people in the developed world are too complacent to really get angry and kill each other, and killing a million people is a surprisingly tough job to do without the assistance of nuclear weapons or national war machines.
Maybe I'm just misunderstanding the gravity of a collpase, but I don't remember reading about people spontaneously murdering each other and looting after Black Friday in 1929.
If the economy collapsed tomorrow, where would you get your food? Would you starve to death first, or attempt to murder your next door neighbor, who lives alone, to feed your family? Would he kill you first?
I would eat everything in my cupboards, and by the time that was gone (let's just say a week), I'm sure I could kindly ask him if he has any to share.
By that time, everyone would be in the know that "shit just got real", so I'm sure there would be a lot of people who were actually concerned about other people being able to eat, and that it was counterproductive to lock their doors and shoot anyone who gets close. There are also people in modern society who are paid full-time to patrol the streets and keep the peace; while I know they can't be everywhere at once, they could probably maintain a non-catastrophic level of security, and would be joined by vigilantes and other decent-minded people who just want everyone to get out of the situation alive. I know that's what I'd do in such a situation.
I wonder why you didn't even entertain "sharing" as a possibility, I think it shows an unnerving level of innate psychosis in the human race, like we're all just itching for an excuse to smash our neighbor's skull open and drink their blood. Grow up.
I don't get it (literally, please explain). What happens when the "economy collapses tomorrow"? Do cows stop producing milk? Do factories stop making iPods? Do truck drivers stop driving food to supermarkets?
What happens when the "economy collapses tomorrow"?
It's horrible. The world becomes a combination of the movies "28 days later" and "Mad Max," almost instantaneously. The only glimmer of hope is roving bands of freedom fighters grown out of the ranks of former bloggers who had the prescience to comment frequently about gold-backed currency.
I will explain. I have been through two total economy collapses in my life. My country collapsed twice, once in 91, when the communist regime was overthrown, and again in 97, when total financial collapse, plus social unrest happen.
In 91 there was violence, but few deaths. But I remember I had to stay in line for bread, at 10 yo, pushing and shoving to buy some, otherwise no food for me and my family. This wasn't not because we didn't have money, but because there was no food. Since everything was provided by the government, and the government seized to exist, things got really bad.
The EU had to step in, and help us with basic necessities that year.
Then in 97, happen a total economic collapse. A huge ponzi scheme (think Madoff x3), where a lot of people of an already poor country, lost a lot of money, and the government was corruptly involved in it.
A huge unrest unraveled. The government send in the army to quell it but the soldiers were demoralized and refused to fight their own people, and just left. Army depots got looted, almost everybody ended up with AK-47s, grenades, you name it.
There were no cops in the streets, you were on your own. Businesses will get looted, people that had money will be sent letters to pay money or they would be kidnapped.
In the huge unrest, looting, settling of scores, and all the chaos, about 2000k people died, in the span of 3 months.
Eventually a new government got formed, and things calmed down. Economy rebounded the next year, and things are getting better.
Now, you might think this doesn't happen in the US, but I should just remember you that Katrina was only few years ago, and look at the rape and pillaging that happen then. The LA rioting was only 18 years ago. Things like this can happen even in the us.
If you have no money, b/c your bank failed, your credit card doesn't work, your are desperate, something got to give.
And with that line of thought, you're going to see a lot more gray markets open up for things like that, especially if the trend of protectionism continues its course.
Cows keep producing milk, but that's not much good unless you live near the cows.
Factories stop making iPods since people don't go to work if they know they won't get paid. Likewise, the truck drivers won't keep bringing food to the supermarket. Which might not matter anyway if your bank has collapsed and you don't have any cash.
So after your food has run out, and you know your neighbour has food but doesn't want to share it with you, what do you think happens next?
Funny you should worry about factories producing iPods, I'd be more worried about a continued supply of clean water, food and energy in that order. And yes, cows may stop producing milk if the milk gear does not work anymore, how many people still milk their cows by hand.
I can see a lot of use for a crash course in basic farming in a situation like that, iPods not so much...
I will add a quote from Arrested Development made by Buster:
Michael: Buster? The guy who thought that the blue on the map was land?
Lucille: He's had business classes.
Buster: W-w-w-wait. Eighteenth-century agrarian business. But I guess it's all the same principles. Lemme ask you: Are you at all concerned about an uprising?
No , but the links between economic entities will collapse.
Cows will produce milk but no one will come to deliver it to the stores for example.And actually cows will stop producing milk at some point because you will not have food to feed them.
Look at the history books on Soviet Union collapse , it was very bad but it was not devastating as wars are...
A whole day? Why, I'd certainly kill my neighbors to avoid even 18 hours without nourishing my children. One dead neighbor isn't worth even a quarter millimeter of the stunted growth caused by a day without food!
I think we are still piling feathers on the camel's back.
Americans are also very unused to rioting, in general. It isn't part of their consciousness yet.
And I think it's ineffective to compare this to 1929. It certainly won't be exactly the same. It could be better, or it could be much worse.
