...is stupidity...and half of the U.S. population is infected...in spades!
Sorry, but “the greatest disease of all” is egalitarianism as it is a denial of the facts of history; i.e. someone will govern and hence be “The Elite.”
Not entirely. The "stuff" was mostly still there, but with 1/3 fewer people to share it. More or less by definition, this means a significant average bump in the average assets owned by the survivors.
For instance, the surviving peasants concentrated on the most fertile land, and therefore their average production increased.
OTOH, reduced demand decreases the value of many though probably not all of those assets.
The worst Disease in human history; is the disease of Liberalism/Socialism.
Life is a terminal illness.