The work of James C. Scott and some others suggest that the kind of civilization-building that Burke describes has been frequently done in reverse, voluntarily -- that is, the kind of walking-away he describes as a disaster was done deliberately as a strategy of survival and resistance, in the event of war, famine, or an overbearing gove…
The work of James C. Scott and some others suggest that the kind of civilization-building that Burke describes has been frequently done in reverse, voluntarily -- that is, the kind of walking-away he describes as a disaster was done deliberately as a strategy of survival and resistance, in the event of war, famine, or an overbearing government. Times were simpler then, of course, with less technology to set down, and with places to go beyond the farms: mountains and forests that can, if managed carefully, support a significant population. It would be much harder to pull off now. But it would be interesting to see what Burke would make of Scott's evidence.
Another angle to consider is that technology is knowledge -- and some forms of technology allow you to store that knowledge pretty well. Here in my house we have a whole shelf of books on self-sufficiency, starting with the Foxfire series and going from there. We never read them. But in the event of an irreversible disaster like Burke suggests, they'd be there for us. Hard to move, vulnerable to water and fire, but otherwise quite shelf-stable, no matter what's happened to the electricity. Other technology can be carried in our heads, too -- germ theory, for instance. First aid training. Knowledge of certain edible plants...
The work of James C. Scott and some others suggest that the kind of civilization-building that Burke describes has been frequently done in reverse, voluntarily -- that is, the kind of walking-away he describes as a disaster was done deliberately as a strategy of survival and resistance, in the event of war, famine, or an overbearing government. Times were simpler then, of course, with less technology to set down, and with places to go beyond the farms: mountains and forests that can, if managed carefully, support a significant population. It would be much harder to pull off now. But it would be interesting to see what Burke would make of Scott's evidence.
Another angle to consider is that technology is knowledge -- and some forms of technology allow you to store that knowledge pretty well. Here in my house we have a whole shelf of books on self-sufficiency, starting with the Foxfire series and going from there. We never read them. But in the event of an irreversible disaster like Burke suggests, they'd be there for us. Hard to move, vulnerable to water and fire, but otherwise quite shelf-stable, no matter what's happened to the electricity. Other technology can be carried in our heads, too -- germ theory, for instance. First aid training. Knowledge of certain edible plants...
We shouldn't ever have to start over entirely.