[freeloop10]

I don't see how a population exposed to mass destruction (nuclear holocaust, biological agents, etc.) is going to have the same effect as a a couple of bad harvests, nor how a bunch of untrained civilians with semi automatic guns are going to compete against the modern military industrial complex.

The word has changed, but the cards that the common people hold remains about the same as before. Your "starving common people" may hold a full house and yesterday, that meant something, but nowadays, it doesn't compete with the straight flush of a modern military, psych-ops, and the entertainment distractions of today.