Dear Hugh,
Three cheers for the article “Ideas Concerning a Post Collapse World”! “M.S.” is obviously a very bright and literate person, and while the blog offering is short, it is packed with a lot to think about. I believe the author is likely “spot on” with most of its outlook for the future with one question mark for me as to whether a foreign army (or two) would invade the CONUS or not. I see that as more likely than the author does, but only time will tell. I would though like to take the opportunity to address an item briefly mentioned in the offering that I believe has become somewhat of an “Urban Legend” amongst some survivalist types. That is the notion that absent modern medical care we are all just one paper cut away from infection, gangrene, and dying a horrible death.
For the past ten years we have lived and operated a “small scale farmstead” as the author speaks of. Our farmstead is 20 acres and has gardens, orchards, and myriad livestock. That lifestyle is hard work, and we are constantly building, fixing, mending, and dealing with what we call “barnyard drama”. Cuts, scrapes, scratches, wounds, and bruises are a regular occurrence in farmstead life. The number of times I have bled in the last ten years on the farm are not countable, and I have never once become infected much less needed antibiotics for a wound including two dog bites. Frequently, I don’t even wash or bandage smaller cuts and scrapes. (I do encourage puncture wounds to bleed though!) Do we have antibiotics on hand for more serious problems in a post collapse world? Sure. Will we be more diligent with wound management in a post collapse world? Sure. Yet for most wounds, Povidone Iodine, Vetracyn, triple antibiotic ointment, and sterile dressings are going to be all you need to treat them. As I said, I have seen this notion come up in numerous survival offerings where we are all one infected scrape away from death, which to me is a bit over the top fatalism. Regards – B.J.