Larry Niven

Larry Niven
Quotation about “civilization being only 24 hours and two meals away from barbarism”?

There’s a quotation about “civilization being only 24 hours and two meals away from barbarism”.

(I may have the number of hours and meals wrong)

Where does the saying come from?

I think I first came across it in a Terry Pratchett novel, but I found a web reference (which I’ve now lost) attributing it to a Larry Niven novel published in the 70s. I have a feeling it’s even older, though.

That’s certainly an intriguing quote. I have no clue where it came from, but I always like to watch movies where New York City is in the cross-hairs of cataclysm (ex. Independence Day, the Day After Tomorrow, War of the Worlds, etc.) and how New Yorkers turn into bottom feeding barbarians, each after his/her own skin. I think there’s more truth to that quote than one might think at first glance.


Rough Cut [VHS]


Rough Cut [VHS]


$14.95



Distant Drums [VHS]


Distant Drums [VHS]


$7.68




The Best of Larry Niven (Hardcover)


The Best of Larry Niven (Hardcover)


$26.14


Description not available.

Betrayer of Worlds (Hardcover)


Betrayer of Worlds (Hardcover)


$16.98


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