First, I apologize for not posting last week; I was on holidays and was so discombobulated when I got back (I’m not used to taking holidays, heh), I forgot all sorts of stuff. It got pretty ugly, actually. But now I’m back, with my head partially screwed on straight. (It’s only slightly askew.)
Anyway. Right before I left for holidays, I got a jury duty summons letter. Believe it or not, I actually want to serve on a jury (and have wanted to ever since I taught a high school legal studies class and got to go on a field trip to the courthouse with my students). So I was kinda a lot excited about my letter from the provincial government. Until Hubby reminded me that as a stay-at-home-mom, I now have two tiny-human, round-the-clock bosses, and where the hell would we put the kids if I got picked for a jury? So, sadly, I had to apply for an exemption. And my application was approved, which means I am now excused from jury duty. Which makes me a sad Char, indeed.
But! Sadness aside, I started thinking. (Which is a dangerous past-time, but one I still indulge in every now and again.) What will post-apocalyptic legal system look like? After some thought, I came up with a few different possibilities:
- The lawless frontier. Okay, I have to admit, this is what usually springs to mind when I think about post-apocalyptic society. (Clearly, I’ve been influenced a bit too much by Hollywood.) In this world, there’s no law and pretty much anything goes. You know, like the Wild West. In the future. With mutant puppies and sentient badgers. And possibly better weapons.
- The tribunal. But maybe somewhere, sometime, in that lawless frontier, a group of people have been able to impose some sort of order on the world (or what’s left of it). Maybe this group of people are able to share the power among them (haha, share), and they make the laws and decide what happens to people. For argument’s sake, let’s call this The Tribunal, but it could be called The Commission, The Council of Elders, The People Who Decide Stuff, or The Group of Sentient Badgers.
- The lone dictator/monarch/benevolent king. This is pretty much self-explanatory, isn’t it?
- “Off with his/her/it’s head!” See above.
- The Hand of God/Goddess/SuperPig/That Spiritual Dude. In a version of post-apocalyptic society where survivors turn to religion (whatever religion that may be), all legal/justice/blah blah blah decisions could be made by communing with whatever important religious artifact was designated to be the most direct line to God/Goddess/SuperPig/That Spiritual Dude. Or by an Oracle (but not of Delphi).
- Democracy. It’s possible, right?
So, what do you think? What are some other possible post-apocalyptic legal/justice systems?
Heh, sentient badgers works well with me. I’d like to think that post-apocalyptic society would become somewhat tribal in nature. With a small community, there would need to be a sense of togetherness, but still with a figurehead to lead.
I took a little look at law and order post-apocalypse back in February:
http://www.mithrilwisdom.com/2012/02/post-apocalyptic-law.html