If a comet hit the earth and modern civilization collapsed....?

Question

but left plenty of survivors, would the modern societies of the world revert back to primal "earthy" human behaviors such as subjugation of women, slavery, belief in multiple gods, feudal systems, etc...

Or would we just lose our technology but not our accumulated progress in social and ethical matters. Would it be possible for a technologically primitive society to live by the moral and ethical order of the modern world?

Answer 1

In part the modern modes would survive the disaster.

The universality of this would be non-existant. Parts of the world where the least economic/techinical regression was in effect would likely command a superior position among Earthlings---the rest would be in free-for-all struggle to survive and only lastly would they be concerned with nationhood.

The first to emerge in a congealed 'nation' might take the lead and dominate where ever it could. Such dominance most likely would be limited and exist mainly where it had been challenged either technologically or militarily.

Human history thus would be repeating itself from the emergence of tribes to societies,to nations, to coalitions.

Should there be a resurgence of technology then there might be accelerated progress towrd what had once existed but the lack of infrastructure could make this at times impossible.

Answer 2

Unfortunately it is my opinion that many of these behaviors would reemerge. The belief that the sociological group you are in is superior and should subjugate everyone else is very common and still exists today even in so called modern day society. People in the past grouped together under one man or family for protection. They then worked to support the protector(s).
With technology gone, most modern people would not survive. How many people can medically treat injuries? or make a writing utensil, or make paper, or grow food, or kill game or tan a hide, or make a candle. A pencil is not high technology, but how many people can make one. People would band together and once again the strongest would control/protect the weakest. I tend to think that belief in multiple gods might not return immediately. But slavery, subjugation of women and a feudal system would probably return quickly.
Those who live in a low technological society would see the fewest changes.
We have moved forward in social and ethical matters because technology has given us more time to think and socialize and less time hunting and raising food.

Answer 3

A big enough strike would cause several years of darkness, massive die-off or animals and plants, plus result in lowering the average temperature several degrees.

Most long distance communication and travel would end. Power would be gone or severely rationed.

Which means no TV, Internet, Ipods, cellphones and no way to access the information contained on them.

Medicine, processing food, and factory made items would be gone.

It's possible that an 18th century agrarian society would result. That would have small farmers, people that preyed on them, people that protected them limited trade and a memory that things were once much differnet. By the time humanity and the earth recovered, lots of information would be los forever.

Most of a person's energy would be in raising enough food to live. the gender based roles from the past would appear again. If for no other reason that they are the result of people having to survive.

Answer 4

To wipe out modern civilization on a global scale without killing at least 90% of the humans alive today would be practically impossible. Civilizations can function almost completely independant of each other. Even the most in demand commodity, oil, is produced on every continent on earth except Antartica. So unless you could wipe out civilization on a global scale, the world would recover fairly quickly. A nuclear war would probably be incapale of producing the necessary destruction. About the only thing that could produce the necessary destruction would be an asteriod of the magnitude that wiped out the dinosaurs. If you did manage a catastrophe large enough to wipe out 90% of humanity, it wouldn't really be important whether men reverted to more primal behaviour, the important thing would be if they survived at all.

Answer 5

Assumming a major disaster with "few" survivors, then yes, we would go back to, ( as you put it) primal earthy human behaviours. We'd only be using our intelligence to survive, and in time we'd forget about our old life, and such things as education. I'd say that survivors would then split up to give some of them a better chance of repopulating the earth. I have often wondered how many times before this has actually happened.

Answer 6

A good fiction book that is rather old, but still a great read depicts this exact scenario. It's called Lucifer's Hammer.

Answer 7

I found your statement that our modern world has, "moral and ethical order", astounding!

If, true, it would be nice.

Answer 8

the aliens would come and say "WE WERE REALLY JESUS CHRIST" and stuff like that.
its going to happen in 2012, look it up=]