The Hobbit ,The Inklings And The New Middle Ages Final Part

H G Wells in his 1941 book The Outlook For Homo Sapiens raised some interesting points about a return to medieval conditions.He envisaged a world in which large scale systems such as rail networks,postal systems and international trade might break down but radio broadcasts,simple light aircraft and fire arms would continue to exist.Fire arms are very simple machines and there are plenty in working order that are a century old.Existing supplies of fire arms will last for centuries if well maintained and ammunition can be made in simple work shops as they are in the tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.Distilled Spirits are another  a fairly simple technology which people in the future would be unlikely to forget.We can already see signs of such a scenario in the combination of crumbling infrastructure and advanced digital technology which exist in parts of the early 21st century world. The probability is that the future will resemble the past rather than the dream of progress dreamt by the 20th century .The reappearance of such evils as slavery and piracy is proof of this.