What's your take on the idea that the U.S. government is naturally resilient to collapse because of its structure of sub-jurisdictions that each (generally) have a cohesive cultural, religious, demographic, and political identity? It seems like, outside of the worst areas, everyone would already be living under a government that would only have to expand a bit to fill the vacuum, and already carries legal legitimacy.
I'm far from bullish on the U.S. making a comeback, but aside from some completely deracinated and dysfunctional states (NY, IL, CA), I can't imagine that, say, Mainers, wouldn't have the collective civic pride to pull through. Texas may not be what it once was, but the parts of it that are still Texas will probably likewise outlast the U.S., and Florida (doubts about its present governor aside) is full of young, ambitious right-wingers with the skillset required to live in an expensive, high-demand area.
Beyond that, individual neighborhoods can be pretty tough. I remember those popup militias during the riots three years ago.
Texas pride does make sense, I can see it becoming sort of a state competitor. I want to be optimistic about that. But when I think about it I think about the problem of mass that I'm describing, and the question becomes "Do high mass places still have the competence bank to keep the lights on" and most of the time the answer is "chicago"
Of course none of these communities are atomized- How much does texas rely on imports? Everything computational or tech certainly, at a minimum. And while Texans (Most of my experience with southerners is Louisiana and Mississippi) do have a shared pride, I am not convinced that they have much of a shared community. That will probably have to change as things get tighter, which means everyone from the generations my theorized apocalypse will affect (millenials and zoomers) will have to do a *full* pivot from social media/tech integrated/atomized communities, into "real life communities to perform real life services for each other", some places might manage this but I don't see most making that transition well at all. It will be interesting to see, to say the least.
What's your take on the idea that the U.S. government is naturally resilient to collapse because of its structure of sub-jurisdictions that each (generally) have a cohesive cultural, religious, demographic, and political identity? It seems like, outside of the worst areas, everyone would already be living under a government that would only have to expand a bit to fill the vacuum, and already carries legal legitimacy.
I'm far from bullish on the U.S. making a comeback, but aside from some completely deracinated and dysfunctional states (NY, IL, CA), I can't imagine that, say, Mainers, wouldn't have the collective civic pride to pull through. Texas may not be what it once was, but the parts of it that are still Texas will probably likewise outlast the U.S., and Florida (doubts about its present governor aside) is full of young, ambitious right-wingers with the skillset required to live in an expensive, high-demand area.
Beyond that, individual neighborhoods can be pretty tough. I remember those popup militias during the riots three years ago.
Texas pride does make sense, I can see it becoming sort of a state competitor. I want to be optimistic about that. But when I think about it I think about the problem of mass that I'm describing, and the question becomes "Do high mass places still have the competence bank to keep the lights on" and most of the time the answer is "chicago"
Of course none of these communities are atomized- How much does texas rely on imports? Everything computational or tech certainly, at a minimum. And while Texans (Most of my experience with southerners is Louisiana and Mississippi) do have a shared pride, I am not convinced that they have much of a shared community. That will probably have to change as things get tighter, which means everyone from the generations my theorized apocalypse will affect (millenials and zoomers) will have to do a *full* pivot from social media/tech integrated/atomized communities, into "real life communities to perform real life services for each other", some places might manage this but I don't see most making that transition well at all. It will be interesting to see, to say the least.