The Societal Impact of Plagues: Creating Instability, Destroying Hierarchies, and Uprooting Cultural Bedrock

The high mortality rates of diseases like the Black Death and the impact on societies have always been fascinating. These diseases not only result in a large number of deaths but also disrupt the entire fabric of societies, including religious and social structures. It turns everything upside down and creates instability. Survivors are traumatized for generations. This is similar to what Charles C. Mann described as opening Pandora's Box.