What we are facing is unprecedented in history. Our society is completely dependent on our modern distribution system. We have saturated the world with dollars and debt. Places like Somalia have never risen to that level to crash that hard. It will be very tough in first world countries.
Once it crashes, govts will no longer have the funds to maintain order. The best bet is the states, but the national govt will be impotent. It will be fairly anarchic, but way worse in the major city areas. They will leave the ruralies to fend for themselves while they try to contain the cities. The scenario the author projects is very possible.
“Once it crashes, govts will no longer have the funds to maintain order.”
Economic activity never drops to zero, there is always somebody selling and somebody buying what they are selling. Oil and gas will not just magically disappear, the oil producing nations will always be interested in selling that oil to someone so there will be some energy available that can be used. Also, you had better believe that if people in cities start to get hungry that they will organize and go out and take (tax) what they need from the rural areas. You’ll be paid in worthless paper for you produce or packed off to jail if you refuse (they’ll leave enough for you to survive and plant next years crop so that they can take it again, or if really stupid do what they did in Zimbabwe and give it over to cronies and watch everyone starve to death).
The real danger is that you get some genocidal idiot in a leadership position who decides that there are too many people and starts systematically killing off the undesirables. There’s not much that you can do other than run to another country if that happens. Look at the Ukraine, Cambodia and any number of other places for those types of examples.
Just remember all the past small peaceful civilizations that grew up and thrived. Oh wait, none of those are around because they all got stomped on by someone bigger and more aggressive. Remember that when planning on going out to some small rural community on a small plot of land.
That’s kind of my thinking, that the gov would have it’s hands full just trying to keep some sort of order in the cities and trying to protect high-value assets (power generation plants, command and control facilities, etc),
I doubt they’ll be out harassing J6P who lives on a couple acres 25 miles outside of town.