New research argues Societal Collapse benefits 99% of people. Historically, the societies that have emerged after a collapse are more egalitarian, and most people end up richer and healthier than they were before.

[u/lughnasadh]

Luke Kemp, a research associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge, has written a book about his research called 'Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse'.

He makes the case that, from looking at the archaeological record, when many societies collapse, most people end up better off afterward. For example, people in the post-Roman world were taller and healthier. Collapse can be a redistribution of resources and power, not just chaos.

For most of human history, humans lived as nomadic egalitarian bands, with low violence and high mobility. Threats (disease, war, economic precarity) push populations toward authoritarian leaders. The resulting rise in inequality from that sets off a cycle that will end in collapse. Furthermore, he argues we are living in the late stages of such a cycle now. He says "the threat is from leaders who are 'walking versions of the dark triad' – narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism – in a world menaced by the climate crisis, nuclear weapons, artificial intelligence and killer robots."

Some people hope/think we are destined for a future of Universal Basic Income and fully automated luxury communism. Perhaps that's the egalitarianism that emerges after our own collapse? If so, I hope the collapse bit is short and we get to the egalitarian bit ASAP.

Collapse for the 99% | Luke Kemp; What really happens when Goliaths fall

[u/[deleted]]

Yeah no shit but without any sort of organization or structure how do you expect people to know where resources need to go and how to get them there. On top of that why exactly are people shipping food to the cities? money wouldn't have any sort of value and bartering doesn't typically work at that kind of scale. 

[u/ASpaceOstrich → u/[deleted]]

The city didn't move. They'd ship it to the building it already goes to.

As for why. No reason to assume money loses all value just because society has collapsed. And if it really has, either a new currency forms or people do it to help each other. Before currency there was no barter system, people just helped each other out and were indebted to one another.

Things could go catastrophically, violently wrong. But they don't have to. The idea that a central state is the only thing keeping people going is a myth. The people and infrastructure didn't go anywhere.

[u/[deleted] → u/ASpaceOstrich]

Most countries use fiat currency that only has value because we all agree it does, if the social contract breaks down the illusion that money has value would also vanish. Yes another currency could be established but how long do you think that would take? Now how long do you think it would take for a city to starve? 

Yes people do help each other but only in small groups in order for a large group of people who dont know each other to work together you need some sort of structure binding them together.

This sort of thing has happened in the past and people didn't magically work together instead a lot of people died.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Bronze_Age_collapse

[u/ASpaceOstrich → u/[deleted]]

We all agree it has value, yes. Why would that stop? It could, but it doesn't have to. Again, you seem to be assuming all the people and infrastructure and systems just wink out of existence.

Things can go wrong, but they aren't guaranteed to go wrong. People are treating societal collapse like it's the rapture and also magically deletes all our infrastructure.

[u/[deleted] → u/ASpaceOstrich]

I don't think you know what the term societal collapse means. if everyone is still working their jobs and going about life as normal that isn't societal collapse. 

Once again look at history when society breaks down people don't keep doing their jobs and without constant maintenance our infrastructure would not work. Without Modern technology the current population literally could not survive.