Here's a little exercise that falls under the "what if" category.

Ok so i haven't seen this question posted anywhere else but i could very well have missed it so i apologize if this is a repeat, also i am sorry if this is not the appropriate section for this thread. So here is the scenario TSHTF, governments collapse, society crumbles, infrastructure fails, everything we're preparing for comes to pass. The survivalists hole up in there BOL with their years worth of beans and rice or take off to the woods and live on twigs and berries, some sheeple manage to adapt and survive but for the most part the vast majority of society dies off.

Now its maybe 5 years later the world is much quieter now and its come time to gather what remains of humanity and rebuild civilization. How do you do it? This thread assumes the reconstruction of communities 30, 50, 80, 100 or more people. How do you bring them together? How do you determine who does what within the community? How do you deal with disruptive people/those that don't contribute? Security? Contact and cooperation with other communities? Where do you settle? What do you do if the previous owner of whatever building you settle in comes back? Do you attempt to rebuild infrastructure ie electricity, running water etc? Anything else you would think to do and how would you do it?

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Please don't take my avatar to seriously. I'm really not a bible thumping armageddon prophet.

Wow! You asked a lot of questions in this one.

This is why I believe in Survival groups. There is safety in numbers and everyone has different skills. I have a small group and we discuss different things like this and try to determine who is the best person to do what in different situations. When it comes to adding someone to the group before or after TEOTWAKI, you need to find out what they do know, rather than what they think they know to figure this out. You also need to figure out if someone can be trusted. This is the most important thing. Someone you can trust that has no real skills can be taught. Someone you can't trust will be a burden on the group at best no matter what they can do.

At some point I would try to have my group move into a town to try to establish some kind of society. As for where, it is hard to say. It has to defensible against any violent groups that may be around as well as have access to resources and the ability to grow food in the area. How far I would go with utilities would depend on the size of the group as well as if there is anyone with the knowledge to be able to do so safely. There would be no sense in trying this if there would be the danger of putting the group into harms way to so so.

Once we did settle into an area, whether it would be a town or other area, assigned tasks would be handled by who knows what, and everyone would have to have several areas of responsibility, along with ones that everyone would have to pitch in on. Gathering food and building shelter and providing security would be everyone's responsibility. If the group grew large enough, then it would be possible to set up a society such as we had in this country during colonial times and even during the early years of the US. Individuals could then do what they do best, and barter for what others have to offer.

Disruptive people or those who do not contribute will be forced to leave the group. There will be no welfare. If someone is hurt or gets sick, and is otherwise a good member of the group and normally pulls his share, I have no problem with the group helping him until he gets back onto his feet. To me that is not welfare, a hand up is not a hand out. Those who are disruptive will be forced to leave. Plain and simple. For a group to survive, there has to be rules. If you want to stay, obey the rules, otherwise, just leave. I am not sure how I would decide who would have to leave, but I think this should be a group decision. I also think it should be a group decision if someone is to be added.

If there are other groups or communities in the area, contact should be made and a relationship formed if possible. This group could have stuff you need, your group could have stuff they need, and bartering isn't a bad thing. It would also be beneficial to develop a relationship with other groups when it comes to common defense. There are a lot of things that each group could help each other with. With the right interaction large, self sufficient communities could be possible.

Someone coming back to a home occupied by your group is really something to think about. If your group inhabited a town, and this person would be a productive member, I guess the best thing to do would be let him join the group and have his home back. If he turns out to be untrustworthy, I guess the best thing to do is follow the groups rules and send him down the road.

This is the best I can answer this stuff without actually living it. No two scenarios or groups of people are exactly the same. I would like to think that I know what my group would do, but one can never be 100% certain of this.

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Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

NRA Certified Instructor for Basic Handgun and Personal protection in the Home.
V.F.W. Life Member
NRA Member
U.S. Army Veteran

Interesting question, I say that because i am in the middle of writing a book pretty much based on that premise, the difference
being my book starts out 10 years later and flashes back to previous years.

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Retired Navy SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape) Instructor
certified pistol, rifle, shotgun, home defense Instructor
NRA Life Member
Survival & Disaster Preparedness Instructor