The State is Doomed! 21-23

21a. Why not revel in the fall? Due to systemic contradictions, civilization is becoming stagnant. One can only recycle for so long. Eventually, the base material degrades. Why not just take that trash out to the curb? It won't be missed or not–one man's trash is another man's treasure. One can be selective. Anyone can destroy. Anyone can build.

21b. But what of nuclear weapons? The State's tools and toys will outlast it? If the fall is inevitable, won't the end of central control mean disaster? Maybe. What will be will be. Fortunately, although nuclear material is long lasting, the technology will deteriorate. Poison will ultimately be a larger threat than bombs. The world will die slowly.

22c. The State's demise, and consequently civilization as we know it, does not necessarily entail the end of institutions–merely centralized control. The replacement might be even worse. Only vigilance, born of limited foresight, might counter the worst–feudalism and warlords. Afghanistan is not to be emulated.

22d. Roving bands can only be combated by uncompromising ruthlessness. Fortified towns might provide a means of defense. Military orders, like knights,[5] may be developed to secure the worst weapons of civilization. Who knows? Humans always seem to manage to survive.

23. Fear blinds. Most people (in the industrialized world) probably dread a fall. They prefer the familiar over uncertainty. They look at the past, before the age of modern states, and believe a fall would be a return to constant victimization. However, as modern weaponry will allow 100 men to destroy a small state, it also enables better defense. For example, in Pakistan throughout the tribal belt, according to Rashid, AK47s are fabricated in garages. Recent incursions, the first ever, by the Pakistani military has met stiff resistance. Casualties are close to par. If a nuclear capable state cannot subdue its own territory, how could a roving gang do otherwise? One need only be willing to offer defensive measures. Most thugs would think twice before attempting to dominate a strong, well-armed community. The remainder must be eliminated in the usual fashion.

[5] In fact, the Assassins have returned. Al Qaeda is nothing less (or more). The past appears to be resurgent–only far better able to kill on a mass scale. Fear is the better weapon for maximum advantage in a technological society.