If you listen to the media, you hear that loss of the paper money would lead to loss of money itself. This media is propaganda. Money adapts to something else. A doctor, dentist, carpenter, or plumber, you can get paid easier. If you are a lawyer or college professor, you may or may not do so well. If you are a farmer and can control your land, then your land and crops are excellent as money. Sorry to say, but people with guns will survive better than people without weapons.
There is also paper money that is backed by some commodity, which falls in the middle. Examples in Table 1.1 are U.S. Dollar Gold and Silver Certificates.