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> However, civilizations are much more delicate. But they're really not. Civilization in Norway survived the Black Death killing 60% of the population. We coul
by barry-cotter 5y ago
> However, civilizations are much more delicate.
But they're really not. Civilization in Norway survived the Black Death killing 60% of the population. We could regress a great deal in terms of the technology we could apply with large enough fatality rates but if we can still feed large numbers of people and maintain things at all we can keep civilization going. If one third of the US population dropped dead it would have the same population as in the late 1960s. They kept civilization going. Things would get a lot worse for a long time but there'd be no danger of civilizational collapse.
- ncmncm 5y agoThat assume the people remaining actually choose to retain civilization. That seems like an easy choice, but it should by now be clear it is not necessarily a majority choice.
- CRConrad 5y ago> We could regress a great deal in terms of the technology we could apply with large enough fatality rates but if we can still feed large numbers of people and maintain things at all we can keep civilization going. Take away enough technology and you'll still have people, but not so much civilization. In a way, technology is civilization.