Total social breakdown. Major cities gone. The complete collapse of civilization. How will you survive in a land with no government or local police? Communities, survivors left to fend for themselves.
Included: What are key survival supplies for surviving the collapse of civilization?
How will you survive in a land with no government or local police?
What happens when communities and survivors of major disastrous events are left to fend for themselves? Perhaps you’re familiar with the post-apocalyptic television series from the 2000s, Jericho, which originally aired on CBS.
The show’s premise is that several of America’s major cities have been devastated by nuclear weapons.
Repeats of the show are all you’ll find nowadays — but it’s still compelling television — maybe even more compelling today simply because America just might get nuked by terrorists and rogue nations that support them.
In Jericho the world — as we all know it — has in essence broken down.
Society Has Collapsed
Communication with other towns and our own government is lost; heat and electricity are at a minimum; and food sources are a problem.With all of that going on, Jericho, Kansas is on its own. A small town left to fend for itself. And with the social structure of the United States completely broken down, there are many both inside and outside of the town that would do harm to their fellow man in order to better their own lives.
So what should those living in Jericho, Kansas do?
For a different reason, the survivors of a plane crash on ABC’s hit show Lost find themselves without any contact with the outside world. With little food, no social structure or shelter, and concerns regarding their safety, the survivors at first find themselves grasping at straws.
What Lost And Jericho Reveal
Why bring up two fictional shows? Simply because there is always at least a shred of truth to be found in fiction. Heck, some of humanity’s greatest inventions and discoveries actually emanated from science fiction stories (cloning, for example). Thus, television shows like Jericho and Lost can help shed some light on how we might best react to such a situation.Still, television shows will hardly tell us everything. In fact, no one can. Why? Simply because when it comes to total social breakdown, the variables are so numerous that a one size fits all approach just doesn’t work. Therefore, it might be best to break things down according to the factors people in such a situation might have to consider.
First, Though, Remember That Total Social Breakdown Is Defined By Instability
After a woman broke into a Japanese kindergarten back in 2001 and injured a female teacher with a knife, there was a public outcry. Simply put, the kinds of violence that have become, unfortunately, somewhat commonplace in the United States had never been so in Japan. Along with this, Masao Omura, a criminal psychiatrist at Nihon University in Tokyo, said the following after the event.”Socio-political and economic instability trigger psychological instability or uncertainty, and all this, I believe, is contributing a great deal to the rising brutal crime (in Japan).”
Unfortunately, if daily stresses and events of the world today can set off psychological instability, so, certainly, can a mass issue that causes our social networking and power structure to collapse.
Understatement of the century, right?
Thus, in order to keep civilization civilized, people would need to do everything in their power to bring stability back. That would involve some priority considerations.
Priorities Considerations In The Event Of Total Social Breakdown
(the order here doesn’t matter, as it could conceivably change greatly depending on the situation). Find food and water – If you are someone that believes the world is on the doorstep of Armageddon or could be in for some tough years ahead, you may want to plan for this one in advance. If everything breaks down, one of the first things you’ll need is an immediate supply of food and water.
Best case scenario: you thought about this before the problem and have emergency supplies on hand at your home and / or office. This will help you get through that first week or two.
If not, this could conceivably become the first order of business. Sustain yourself for long enough to come up with a plan. By the way, in speaking of a long term plan…
Find a group ( if there is one available to you )- Under circumstances where complete social chaos is reigning, you might not want to be by yourself. First, there’s physical safety in numbers (on Jericho there have been several situations where outsiders have come to the town intent on doing folks harm; on Lost, of course, there’s the Others).
Regardless, a group will help you protect your family and yourself when and if further danger arises.
Beyond that, group membership will help to meet your need to belong later. That’s right, like the world famous psychologist Abraham Maslow has indicated, all human beings need to feel as if they belong and are safe.
Regardless, look to those you can trust: people within your own neighborhood, for example. Further, if the availability is there – as in the case of Jericho, Kansas – look to your town.
Pick a leader – Football teams need a head coach and some assistants. Without this, any player or coach will tell you that chaos would reign. Every form of government also has a set of leaders. Don’t believe – even for a second – that you can survive chaos without installing some kind of power structure. Everything that is civilization tells us different. Further, by implementing a power structure of sorts, you’ll have in essence brought some order to the chaos, even if only within your own group.
Therefore, small groups would be wise to elect a leader early on (this will be easier within groups that truly know one another). Further, plans regarding the future power structure should be made at this time ( will there be voting?). Such discussions might serve to quell the jealousy of those who are not elected to lead.
Bigger groups could go the democratic route and have mini parliament of sorts, if they chose. Or perhaps an elected official might serve the purpose (like a town mayor).
Protect yourself from the elements with a shelter – Do you still have a house? If so, great! If not, look for natural shelters (like the caves in Lost). Or if no man made or natural shelters are available, consider building some (like the contestants always do on the hit CBS show Survivor).
By the way, do this quickly. Further, if total social breakdown occurs in an area where the elements are a big problem, this may need to be your first order of business.
Heating and cooling – Is the electricity working (not in Jericho, Kansas, it isn’t)? Are there any heat sources available? If not, we’re talking fire (learn how to build a primitive fire). Which of course requires something to burn.
It would be smart to have a plan for dealing with this.
Can You Defend Yourself?
Are you in danger? – In other words, are people walking down your road with guns intent on stealing or otherwise doing harm to you? Obviously, if this is the case, then defending yourself becomes first priority.Perhaps it’s an opposing military; perhaps it’s our own citizens trying to better their own situation. Regardless, here are some ideas to consider.
Fortify your area – There are all types of things you could try. You could line cars, busses, or trucks around you for protection. You could try to build a wall if time permits. You could even attempt to build a fort of sorts. Here’s the problem with all of those ideas.
They let people know where you are.
Thus, the best course of action would likely depend on the situation. If you’re a relatively large group that has weapons and capability, doing some fortification work may not be a bad idea. However, if you’re a small group that wants to remain nameless, the last thing you may want to do is line a bunch of trucks around four houses, particularly if there are groups out there to fear. After all, fortification strategies like that tend to scream, here we are!
In such situations, search for natural barriers to live near (lakes, mountains). These won’t bring any obvious unwanted notoriety. However, keep in mind that if you live near fresh water, expect others to eventually come calling (food and water would, of course, be of paramount important to survivors of social breakdown).
Collect weapons – This is an obvious one. Just remember that if someone wants to be a part of your group, their weapons are too. It can’t just be a band of individuals.
Remember the power structure – When it comes to military maneuvers, a power structure is absolutely of paramount importance. In fact, when you’re electing or deciding on a group leader, their ability to lead you in a military sense should be high on the list.
This leader, if they’re worth a grain of salt, will devise a guard schedule. If there is any truly conceivable danger at all, a watch should always be put into place along with a way for the guard to contact others without alerting attention to him or herself.
Finally, think long term when it comes to food – How are you going to sustain yourselves in the long term? If there is true social chaos that could go on indefinitely, this needs to be considered in great detail. Some things to think about are:
A. Rationing the food you have.
B. Freezing food that might go bad (if you have the means). If not, then eat that first.
C. Farming possibilities (present and future).
D. Cattle availability.
E. Winter rations.
In sum, total social breakdown has never happened in the United States. During periods of specific social unrest, this country has always been able to recover. Regardless, there could be any number of situations that could change America’s luck.
Terrorists, a nuclear war, the consequences of global warming, etc.
Further, total social breakdown can occur in other ways (think Lost). So are you ready? Would you know what to do? Here’s what’s certain.
This article is only meant to get you thinking in the right direction. If the real thing were to ever hit, survivors would have to do a lot of thinking on their feet. Of course, if you thought some of this through before the event, that might save some time and effort…
Key Survival Supplies For Surviving A Collapse
Knowledge: Which remote regions of North America miles away from dying cities (or whatever continent you live on) have the right ecosystem to support multiple sources of food and fresh water? One of these may make a great location for you to flee to. Self Defense: Firearms will go a long way in this regard.
Maps: You need to have alternative routes planned to get you from the area you live, in the event of a collapse, and passed nation-state boundaries that may be policed by military forces (for example, if fleeing to Canada from the U.S., Canada may turn away American survivors if a major catastrophic disaster takes place and Canada is now afraid of being overrun by a fleeing American population.)
You also need maps to plan alternative routes to get you passed areas that may be policed by local militias or even passed large cities that have collapsed, but are now controlled by violent gangs that have seized power. For example, people in the Southern California suburbs fleeing north may run into gangs from Central California cities, that have banded together to seize neighborhoods and tracts of land. How do you get past these gang controlled zones?
Seeds and knowledge of alternative grow methods (survival gardening): The days of open farming will be a thing of the past. You’ll need to learn ways to disguise your growing operations, a lot like the way drug cartels grow illegal drugs in South America and even in the United States currently. New techniques in survival gardening are teaching people ways to grow a variety of plants, that when grown together, look like part of the forest or landscape, allowing you to grow an abundance of food that bandits combing the land won’t recognize as crops.
Our Top Posts About SHTF & Societal Collapse
More Information about SHTF and Total Collapse Scenarios
Betrayal, Faith and Survival: A Lesson from Syria
The Top 5 Most Likely Worst Case Scenarios
Emergency Communications: Nationwide Blackout, EMP, or Solar Flare
Post-Apocalypse: The Cashless Society and the Mark of the Beast
How to Survive a Civil War in America: American Shakedown… A Second Civil War?
SHTF – What’s Your “Plan B” for Surviving SHTF?
How to Survive A U.S. Government Collapse … and a Complete Decapitation of America’s Leadership, Leaving No Survivors
Survival Moving – Protecting Your Family From a Nuclear Confrontation
Top 7 Reasons for Bugging Out from Economic Collapse or Catastrophic Disaster
How to Survive Anarchy – SHTF From Hell
Evacuation Survival Guide – How to Survive a Catastrophic Disaster in a Major City
Why You Can Trust UsSecrets of Survival has been around since 2002 (almost 20 years) and our survival knowledge is the real deal. We were writing and discussing survival and prepping before people even knew what the word “prepping” meant. We also preceded the trendiness of survival media nowadays… for example, we were arround before Bear Grylls filmed his first episode of Man vs Wild.
Our contributors and writers over the years have included survival experts of all stripes – including a Green Beret Special Forces Medic, a former Navy SEAL, a leading survival instructor who’s been featured on National Geographic and PBS. Every article is either written or reviewed by someone who is an expert in either survivalism, prepping, or homesteading (or all three) and our goal is to be as practical and educational as possible.
While some of our writers and contributors use pseudonyms in order to protect their privacy (never a bad idea in these times where out of control surveillance is a growing problem), you can trust that everybody who gets to write for us has been vetted for their knowledge and passion when it comes to survival.
Click here to learn more about Secrets of Survival and our writers and contributors.
As a disAbled individual who has to rely on natural desiccated thyroid rx medicine – my doctor refuses to let me stock the thyroid medicine if civilization crashes. How am I to survive without my medicine that keeps me alive? Another question, as a Deaf person fluent in American Sign Language, (ASL), I tried to find a group of preppers already fluent in ASL , locally but no one is seriously interested in it. I tried to find local preppers not skilled in ASL but they are far away in Ohio. I can’t drive on highways due to anxiety (if there are no other cars on it, then okay, but road raging impatient drivers gives me anxiety). I took some self defense classes but again no one to practice with. Lastly, how can I trust new strangers — last thing I need is a religious or leftist groups trying to convert me.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, to be frank, in the event of societal/economic/civilization collapse – you are among the type of people that not only do not survive, but you are close to dying first.
I’m not trying to be a jerk, but to dumb this down in terms of pets:
Let’s say I have 2 dogs. One is young, healthy, contributes to the household by retrieving things and hunting. The other is old, sick, requires expensive medication.
Suddenly, I have no money. The only food I have is enough to feed myself and one dog. I bet you can pretty easily guess which one I’m going to feed.
Blow that up and extrapolate to your situation.
As an individual myself, or as a group of survivors, I/we cannot afford to take on the burden of feeding, protecting, and caring for someone that A) cannot pull their own weight, B) deal with the anxieties and pressures of our new world, and C) may be a strain on resources for the rest of the group.
This is the early stages of survival, of course. As people learn to cope, live, and survive – then some flexibility works it’s way into that above statement. However, the individuals and groups that try to “help EVERYONE” are the ones that won’t make it for the long haul.
And you @samewise! You’re answer was totally meant to be “the bearer of bad news” and let me be honest with you. Small minded overly simplistic rude guys like you don’t make it very long and end up without a group and dying alone in some horrific way. There is a reason Neanderthals like yourself went extinct. For one thing in your two dog theory when food really started to run short the two dogs would hopefully more than likely band together and just eat you. Also people like you who don’t even bother to asses what another individual might bring to the table end up in a group (if their lucky) with similar close minded and singularly skilled people as themselves and in the game of apocalypse it isn’t the brawn that ultimately survives and restores civilization. It’s the brains AND the brawn.
Secretive Survivalist says
I don’t speak for the site as a whole but I have to say I agree with you completely Ilena.
If we’re talking about the purest sense of survival…. I am afraid Samwise is right. I am not presuming to put a value on Sequoia’s life or what they contribute. But when real survival mode kicks in…. its about who can secure what is required for us to stay alive. Example: my parents are elderly, and in another state… I love them dearly, and they are smart and good people, but they dont really contribute anything close to what they require to survive. If we need someone to gather food, or build shelter, or hunt… they are not able to help with that. And in regard to the two dogs ganging up and eating samwise… also pretty unlikely. They see each other as equals and their provider as their benefactor…. it is more likely the stronger dog would kill the weaker one, than displace his source of food…. just my opinion though.
@sequoia Don’t fret too highly on the medication aspect. I would assume we all would see when things start to go south, kind of like they are now, and try you hardest to convince your PCP to at least fast track another 90 days worth of your non CDS medication, it’s a pretty good chance he/she will give in. AND if not, try to make sure you always have enough to last you at least two weeks because after that almost all of your pharmacies will have been looted for their narcotics on day 1 or 2. Silver linings.
Also I don’t know what gender you are but if you’re of the female variety like myself.. you’ll need to be a lot more worried about real predators not religious groups or the Left.
Looks like your fucked. are you over 35 years old, cause for most of human history that is above the average life expectancy….so, shut the fuck up and quit being a pussy
D.W. Stratton says
This didn’t seem to mention clothing. I feel like if the topic of making and preserving clothing and shelter aren’t discussed, this can’t be a serious guide to much of anything.
Secretive Survivor says
Between the clothing that people own already, the clothing in stores available for scavenging, and (grimly) what’s leftover from those who have passed, I don’t think access to clothing will be an issue for anybody for a long time in this kind of scenario.
AS for shelter – again, in a post collapse society, how many people have perished? How many homes are empty? Housing/shelter is only a scarce resource now because of the number of people we have on the planet. (In many parts of the world it’s not scarce at all). Why would you need to build shelter when in any suburban or urban area there should be hundreds or thousands of empty houses unoccupied?
I would focus on rhe rule of threes and apply it accordingly to your circumstances. If your medication is necesary, include that in those rules. Work on non-chemical methods of dealing with your anxiety. Also, stock supplies, and develop skill that make you an assett rather than what some might view as a liability. And find a doctor who is willing to give you a larger prescription for emergencys. None of us our without our burdens, but in group survival, its always about bringing more to the table than you take.
I am so glad to live in a country that has a social safety net. A country that doesn’t have gun stores and deems them an essential service. A country where talking to an imaginary friend in large groups during a pandemic is viewed as freedom and therefor should ignore all science about the dangers of mass social gatherings. A country that didn’t elect a racist, misogynistic, xenophobic game show host to own the libs.
But I am truly grateful to have been born and raised in a country that sees the worlds population as human. That wasn’t brainwashed as a child thinking I lived in the greatest country on the planet when it is clear tha America is only great if you count money. And any country would have attained that kind of wealth if their economy grew over 200 years by working imported dark skin labour and paying then]m nothing.
So good luck America. You thrive on conspiracy theories, doomsday scenarios, gun culture and health care if you can afford it system. It is all coming home to roost.
The question you have to ask. Do you hate your fellow citizens so much that you would rather die than have resources spread out to help everyone equally in a social democracy for government services, while still maintains capitalism like the other 100 plus western countries that have figured out a balance between unfettered American greed and totalitarian North Korean communism.
We enlightened non Americans have figured it out. When will you. Hopefully on No ember 3, 2929 when you get rid of trump. Remember when trump goes , so goes, pence, Barr, Mnuchin, kudlow, de Voss, Jared. Ivanka, Miller, Conway, Ross, Carson, Pompeo, and if you are really on top of what has happened to your country in three short years you can get rid of McConnel, Graham, and the other trump sycophants.
If you don’t change your government, don’t come knocking on your neighbours door. When some one shows you who you are, believe them. Trust us , you have shown who you are to the entire world.
Why do non-Americans care so much about American politics. Leave us alone, lol. You don’t even live here.
Your deletion of my comment says everything I have known about America and Americans. The cliche is so Jack Nicholson in A few Good Men
Secretive Survivalist says
I have not deleted your comments, they simply require approval by an admin before showing up on a post.
Here in America we believe in free speech. Unless there’s hate speech or spam in your comment, I’m not going to delete it even if I disagree, which I do.
Secretive Survivalist says
Also, worth noting that I am no great fan of the current president, although others who work on this site are. That being said, the level of vitriol you have is unhealthy. Canada has plenty of big problems too including the way it has treated and continues to treat its natives. Also, worth noting that Canada is basically heavily subsidized by the USA through our defense spending – Canadian taxes can go to healthcare and so forth because your country essentially has no military spending, because we spend too much on ours. This is true across much of the west as well. As someone who is in favor of a drastic cut in military spending even if it makes the world much less stable for the rest of the west, you all should think about why it is that every other western country can get away with spending very little on their military. It’s because we subsidize all of you. That’s where your healthcare and social safety net money comes from.
Oh, I get it now. I thought this was a serious discussion of what causes a societal breakdown. After investigating your site I realize you are perpetuating the conspiracies and you must therefore be a right wing pro trump nut job bent on selling products to a perpetually frightened group. Now I see why my comments are being -ousted. You don’t want rational thought because that will kill your business model.
Secretive Survivalist says
none of your comments are being ousted. They require approval, and I’ve approved every single one of them. You are coming of as completely deranged.