That only works before the collapse. I think we can see most of the elements already. Yet, because we (choose to) feel constrained by law we are loath to attend to them.

Slavery was once legal and slaves among the most law-abiding residents.

We were indoctrinated into an orderly "law and order" society and are loathe to recognize when the old paradigms have failed. The world you and I inhabit haschanged a great deal from the even the world we were born into.

Ideas being vaguely "out there" is not enough. Of course the basic ideas exist -- in books and in the minds of a small minority. Most people know nothing about it and are not in any practical way finding out, nor will they if present trends continue in education, the media and the professions.

Knowledge absolutely can and does reside in stories - in histories. That is how we pass along what we have learned to others. Society would not progress were it not able to build on the learning of prior generations. Case in point: the American Indians. They relied on verbal history to pass along their lifestyle and traditions, but left almost no written history and certainly didn't advance scientifically. Contrast that with Europe, where even before the advent of the printing press books were treasured items and paper was one of the preeminent inventions precisely because it allowed for the documentation and promulgation of thought! How many inventions and inventors have gone by the wayside simply because their thoughts were never documented and shared with others?

"Concepts and principles are not absorbed instantaneously."

You've never had an "A-ha!" moment in your life have you? Where things just "click" and the light bulb turns on? I feel sorry for you because its an immensely gratifying sensation. My son can look at advanced mathematical principles and instantly grasp how they are useful. He can tell when to use matrix multiplication and when to use a Fourier transform in his programming while I stand behind him in awe. Just the other day he looked up a paper on different types of 3D rendering algorithms and in under five minutes (just long enough to skim through the paper) had told me in which situations each one was best. He has a talent for it. I've seen others who are so mechanically inclined that they can tell you what is wrong with an engine (and how to fix it) simply by listening to it despite having no previous experience with that kind of vehicle.

I would actually argue that concepts and principles certainly may be understood instantaneously provided the individual has the mental acuity and proclivity to the topic. I would argue (contrary to your assertion) that learning is on a scale for everyone and further that there is a scale for every different kind of topic which is individual to that person (and its called intelligence). Any kind of arbitrary assertion that one categorically may not learn and absorb knowledge as fast as their neurons will fire originates from the ivory tower intellectualist who is afraid of true genius - not reality.

"Knowledge does not come by revelation after experiencing a disaster..."

Then you are missing out on all kinds of learning opportunities. That's all I can say. I know many people who specifically credit a disaster or crisis with changing their lives for the better. There are others who use them as excuses to justify doing exactly the same things they have always done. What do we call this? Ah, yes: the victimhood mentality. Those who are self-aware and independent take ownership of the situation and their response to it - no matter what it may be.

"if anyone still needs a motive to begin to rethink his mistaken beliefs, let alone go in the right direction, a collapse will not help him."

You've never really helped anyone work through a real tragedy have you, like the unexpected loss of a job, a severe illness, death of a relative, etc.? You stand to the side. Motive is an evaluation of a proposed path and the value which following that path brings to one's life. Motive is absolutely key to changing one's ways. I have worked with people (and been one of those at times) and often a time of tragedy is what spurs one to re-evaluate one's premises and motives. They finally realize because something went wrong that they need to change and look at something from a different perspective. No, it isn't the ideal way, but it is by far the most common way.

You keep trying to look at thing as if everything is cerebral and people are idiots to not see the truth. Here's a little point of observation: in general, people have to have the truth presented to them in a time in which they are open to accept it (motive) before they will seriously consider it simply because of inertia. People are creatures of habit not only in action but in thought. It takes something out of the ordinary to overcome that inertia and (perhaps) set the ship on a new course. And the greater the inertia the greater the magnitude of event needed to overcome it.

That is why our nation is where it is: inertia. Progressivism didn't become the norm overnight - displacing the traditional liberalism that pervaded this nation only a century before. Progressive idealists have been working for more than a century to influence society and through what tactics: the media and education institutions. Why these in particular? To push their stories and their ideas.

Why did Hitler write "Mein Kampf" or Karl Marx "The Communist Manifesto" or Saul Alinsky "Rules for Radicals"? Why did Ayn Rand write "The Fountainhead" or "Atlas Shrugged" or Stephen R. Covey "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People"? What about the Bible, the Torah, and the Qu'ran or any number of other books?

Why? To push their stories and their ideas.