Time for AU and AG

[Timelord]

I think it would depend on the general situation combined with the time lag after any big event. During any event, then bartering is going to be very risky and best avoided if at all possible. Really I see the way most people view the subject of bartering as something which takes place once the dust has settled.

During this PSHTF phase then individuals or groups are going to have to seriously consider their long term capabilities & objectives. It is more likely to be unwise (for anyone wise enough to think ahead) to be knocking off fellow survivors with the capacity to trade. Raiders/Bandits may do well initially, but as small bands or communities form, then their days of free reign will be numbered. Capital punishment will be a normal procedure.

History has a lot to teach us here and by studying it and in so doing, not having to reinvent the wheel from our armchairs, then it will become apparent how humankind manages these situations. We are lucky enough nowadays at this rare timeframe in history, to be able to study and learn from our ancestors with such the wealth of knowledge afforded to us by modern information systems. We can learn the from the historical mistakes and from the successful productive courses of action undertaken in similar circumstances. The American West has a lot of similarities and there is more recent literature on this than from earlier times. We can read how groups of people came together and which rules they lived by that allowed them to succeed, How they dealt with adversity, 3rd party threats or even weak leadership. They had rules/codes of conduct they all adhered to. In Saxon times of Alfred the Great, every common man was grouped into a party of 8. These 8 men were each responsible to police the action of the others. Any wrongdoer of the group who absconded, was pursued by the remaining seven and brought back to justice. This was their responsibility or the burden of the crime would fall on their collective shoulders. It was a quite an effective self policing policy. There are many instances that we can learn from in history that would save us from being overwhelmed and in uncertainty over what course of action would be the best at any given time. A wise man would be threefold wise if he could learn to read in history. TL