There have been numerous predictions of a looming Second American Civil War.  It should be noted, however, that regardless of the ideological chasm dividing America, modernity (economics, goods, services, and infrastructure) binds the factions tightly together.  In 2023, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the United States was worth 27,360,935 million U.S. dollars (aka $27.36 trillion), according to data from the World Bank.

The factions are accustomed to nearly on-demand access to goods and services.  Both factions utilize a thoroughly integrated, embedded delivery infrastructure for both.  Just how integrated?  Freight, facts and figures from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics puts it in context.

All benefit by economic integration, although there are considerable differences in GDP from state to state.  Domestic supply chain disruption from natural catastrophes cause significant hardship, as the recent flood in South Carolina illustrates.  What would interstate conflict inflict?

According to the U.S. Census of 2020, “urban areas, defined as densely developed residential, commercial, and other nonresidential areas, now account for 80.0% of the U.S. population.” These areas cannot be sustained without on-demand energy and the daily delivery of an astonishing amount of food and material goods.

America is not Europe, where war and armies ranged far and wide.  Our civil war of 1861–1865 was not continental; the major conflicts and devastation were regional.  The industrialization of the North was unimpeded.  The South was essentially flattened.  In Civil War 2.0, the impact on modernity will be felt by 80% of the population.

If, as it is claimed Napoleon said, an army marches on its stomach, modern conflicts could be said to march on electricity.  Modernity demands energy, lots of it, 24/7.

Civil War 2.0 could and would devastate modernity.  It’s one thing to advocate for a national divorce and then go home, chill, order carry-out, and surf the tube.  But what are the materially satiated factions willing to sacrifice, to endure, for their cause?  So far, this question is unanswered.  In any case, as the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for.

Image: tomaszmichalkania via Pixabay, Pixabay License.