(The following is borrowed from http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2008/02/five-stages-of-collapse.html)
Stage 1: Financial collapse. Faith in "business as usual" is lost. The future is no longer assumed resemble the past in any way that allows risk to be assessed and financial assets to be guaranteed. Financial institutions become insolvent; savings are wiped out, and access to capital is lost.
Stage 2: Commercial collapse. Faith that "the market
shall provide" is lost. Money is devalued and/or becomes scarce,
commodities are hoarded, import and retail chains break down, and widespread
shortages of survival necessities become the norm.
Stage 3: Political collapse. Faith that "the government
will take care of you" is lost. As official attempts to mitigate
widespread loss of access to commercial sources of survival necessities fail to
make a difference, the political establishment loses legitimacy and relevance.
Stage 4: Social collapse. Faith that "your people will
take care of you" is lost, as local social institutions, be they charities
or other groups that rush in to fill the power vacuum run out of resources or
fail through internal conflict.
Stage 5: Cultural collapse. Faith in the goodness of
humanity is lost. People lose their capacity for "kindness, generosity,
consideration, affection, honesty, hospitality, compassion, charity"
(Turnbull, The Mountain People). Families disband and compete as individuals
for scarce resources. The new motto becomes "May you die today so that I
die tomorrow" (Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago). There may even be
some cannibalism.
Does any of that sound familiar? I suggest that you read the rest of Mr. Orlov's article, which further explains these five stages. Interestingly, he maintains that the people of the USSR were better prepared to cope with collapse than we are. I think he's right.
Boy Scout Motto: Be Prepared
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