What If: Mad Max

This is a worldbuilding exercise in which I'll ask what if a certain thing had unfolded in a certain way, and what this would mean for a world like the one in the movie Mad Max. I'll be using the first movie as a basis for this, mainly because I think the world is a lot closer to collapse in this one. <br><br>This is based on my own interpretation of what unfolded in this world. It's not absolute, and you may have your own, very different ideas. <br><br>---<br><br>*What if:* The gasoline shortage of the 1970s was much worse than in the real world. Instead of oil embargoes and long lines at gas stations, there were shortages that lasted months. Gas was rationed, and unless you absolutely had to drive, you didn't. If you did, you got a day a week based on your license plate number. Gas stations ran out of gas, and stayed that way for weeks. Many gas stations went out of business. Oil companies went broke, or at least, into receivership. Many went bankrupt. There was talk of nationalizing the oil industry, but nothing ever came of it. In the end, the oil companies just didn't have enough oil to supply everyone. <br><br>*What does this mean for the world of Mad Max?* <br><br>At some point, the oil companies went broke, and the gas stations went tits up. This caused a chain reaction, as there was no longer a means to supply food or other essentials to grocery stores. The economy collapsed, and the rule of law began to rapidly erode. If you had food and water, you were lucky. If you didn't, you went out and took it. If you couldn't do that, you didn't last very long. Gangs of marauders started to form, as people banded together in order to survive. Law enforcement became more and more militarized, as they tried to keep what order they could. A lot of them ended up becoming warlords, too, as people longed for order, and were willing to pay for it. <br><br>There are three classes of people in this world: those who work in the oil industry, those who work in law enforcement, and those who don't. The first two are guaranteed to have gas, although not much. The last have none. The first two often live in what used to be suburban communities. They're walled or are otherwise fortified, and heavily patrolled. The have-nots live in shantytowns or squats. <br><br>How would you expand upon this, and where would you go from here?