That's similar to how it was in 90's Yugoslavia during international sanctions. We didn't have so much crime (definitely no violent stuff like kidnaping), and

That's similar to how it was in 90's Yugoslavia during international sanctions. We didn't have so much crime (definitely no violent stuff like kidnaping), and cellphone was still big grey brick Fox Mulder would pull out of his jacket ... So sharing knowledge you've found bread or milk was spreading slower. For those asking how come farmers aren't making huge money in such cases - they still need to buy other stuff and that's equally/proportionally expensive. In case of Yugoslavia, I think pretty much all petrol/gas was smuggled in (because international sanctions) from nearby countries. Once you consider that mass producing food means you need to power machines (like tractor) and ultimately transport it somehow to consumers ... Imagine how many jerry cans had to be smuggled ... And IMHO you're mixing cause and effect when you mention state-controlled economies as a cause of this. It mostly fails because (for one reason or another) country is effectively blocked from trading with the rest of the world, and doesn't have enough variety in materials/resources to be on it's own.