Maybe The Conch <| sep |> Kesjbek , omdat vele mensen retour niet kunnen uitspreken . <| sep |> Small groups make a lot of sense , as society collapses you can ' t sustain a big population anymore , everyone has to revert to preindustrial technology , maybe not as bad as reverting to tribes but small groups make a lot more sense than big ones . As for being paranoid , that ' s the point of most apocalyptic fiction humans become animals , and can we keep our humanity if the barriers of society and morals crumble around us ? Besides , if everyone has little food , even in smaller groups , you can bet you ' d have people fighting and rioting over it . Civilization started because of agriculture , which enabled people to not need to farmhuntfish to survive and therefore specialize and build more complex forms of social interaction and architectures ELI 5 verison . Look at societies that did not develop agriculture , and you ' ll hardly find many that have bigger groups for a variety of reasons . That trope is very justified , both narratively and in terms of accuracy . However , dozens or hundreds of years on , several of these tribes might band up and build larger structures again , and agriculture , and everything . I don ' t think everyone would just ditch tribalism , but settlements and other structures would appear , some of them completely new , and in the case of a milder apocalypse , directly out of the ruins of previous structures . Governments also need to enforce their rule to survive if they can ' t enforce said rule , they stop existing or they reduce their sphere of influence . However I do also hate that they just disappear at all levels in the blink of an eye . We have a real life disease apocalypse example , albeit very mild compared to fictional ones the Black Plague , which did not distinguish between commoner and noble , did wipe out goverments or rather it completely reformed social stratas and changed society inside out . I feel the line is thin between society changes massively and is ruined but reforms and governments collapse because the apocalypse killed everybody . As for cars , they ' re a symbol for freedom but I do think they ' re overused . They ' re convenient and valuable , but they need fuel and roads both of which are going to be lacking without anyone to keep up oil production or road maintenance . Bikes , horses , cows , etc . would probably become a lot more common than cars , depending on where you are . In the US , cars would probably still be prevalent because of car culture , local oil fields , and because there are so many but not to the extent portrayed in fiction . People who survived and can take care of stables , or mechanics , or smiths etc . would become highly valued and while people don ' t always know how to ride a horse , there comes a point you ' d have to adapt or walk . More likely than not , they might use cows , etc . to drag cargo rather than riding .