Social Impacts
Law and order may cease to exist partially or completely in some areas depending on how much damage biological weapons cause. Biological weapons are capable of taking lives, but they can potentially pollute valuable resources such as food, land, and water. Nevertheless, the life of all beings in a biological warfare sets is prone to long-term effects which can affect the survival rate of people.
Society may be unable to combat pathogens that are adept at developing resistances as noted by The Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential organization. Long-term exposure will most likely make it difficult for society to recover due to the development of gene mutations, cancer, birth defects and nerve damage humans. Biological agents can linger for many years in water or food, reducing the overall amount of resources. A lack of resources would set aside law and order, promoting a survival of the fittest mentality. Society would then be ruled by pure animal instinct.
It is difficult to say what the effects of biological warfare may be considering a lack biological weapons used in war. The social impacts are difficult to research, however, it is evident societal values tend to fall apart under stressful circumstances. Nevertheless, it is important to consider that these weapons may still have unforeseen consequences.
Biological warfare can have profound social effects on communities all over the world. First and foremost, biological warfare would create restless anxiety among the civilian populace, which could shatter society and create anarchy. The Medical Safety & Global Health organization notes that civil unrest could be the most dangerous effect as society breaks down.
The release of deadly biological agents, whether intentional or not, would be difficult to quarantine, limiting the total available land area. As seen with the spread of the bubonic plague in San Francisco at the start of the twentieth century. The people within quarantine areas have been at the highest risk as they would be exposed to biological agents more than the people outside the quarantined area. As a result, the quarantined people may not only feel isolated from the word, but they may also be judged from. This, in turn, may cause quarantined people to feel as if they have nobody to rely on.
People outside the immediate vicinity of a quarantine zone would most likely move to avoid the spread of disease, possibly carrying any biological agents with them. Society as a whole would most likely stigmatize and avoid the people in the quarantine zone as seen with the AIDS epidemic in the U.S or leprosy as noted by the Croation Medical Journal. Therefore, large-scale biological warfare strikes will result in a shattered society where health determines how a person is treated.
The Emotional Effects of Quarantine
The Possible Meltdown of Society
