Most resilient, stable form

Civil society is the most resilient, the most stable form of social organization we know. 

Civil society is a primitive form of community that is still close enough to the ground to be able to weather the stresses Nature and other threats have in store for the community. For those who are risk averse and conservative in their posture toward life, membership in a civil society is the way to go. 

Civil societies that grow-up after disasters simultaneously demonstrate the brittleness of the ruling elites' power and the creativity and resilience of the ordinary citizen's decision-making processes. 

In the aftermath of disaster the power really is with the people.