There is a false assumption that the disintegration of old economic models means that we’re headed immediately for poverty, pestilence and all bad things. In reality, economies are breaking down, to be replaced by new forms of commercial interaction – sometimes called “black markets” by people who don’t like what’s going on, sometimes just referred to as “the informal economy.”
My future-y colleague Scott Smith at Changeist has a great presentation on this you should check out. It’s equal parts disruptive and positive.