Staying Alive: Societal Lessons from the Late Bronze Age Collapse
It took me a while to really process the “1177” and “After 1177” books detailing the collapse of the Late Bronze Age as mentioned in a previous post. Also seemed really timely if you live in the political Western world. Basically these books talked about the brutal transition of the mediterranean world from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age and how some societies adapted and did well, while others disappeared completely.
The book listed out some key lessons and I list them here.
Have multiple contingency plans in place and redundant systems to fall back on if your primary ones fail
Be resilient enough to withstand whatever blows may come and strong enough to withstand any enemy invasion or attacks
Be as self-sufficient as possible, but do call on friends for assistance when needed
Be innovative and inventive, ready to turn nimbly and adapt or transform, rather than simply cope
Prepare for extreme weather conditions: if they come, you will be ready; if they don’t, it won’t matter
Be sure to have dependable water resources
Keep the working class happy
Damn. These seem super relevant. For countries at large and for your individuals and their families. Worth thinking about and lessons well worth heeding right now.
“The main takeaway from all of this is that clearly such a collapse is survivable, provided that we are resilient enough and able to cope, adapt, or transform as necessary. Societal collapse doesn’t always take everyone with it, and often cultures continue, even if at a simpler level or perhaps in a new iteration.”