To me, it has become a derogatory label and here's why. Whether it's a nuclear winter or kids stuck on an island without any grownups, the situation is always the same, and the theme is always the same.
Humans revert to savagery, men become macho hunter-killer types, and so forth.
There's a nuclear war twenty years before The Wall Around Eden , but Slonczewski is exploding all these stereotypes, not using them. As we have come to expect from this writer, we get a strong narrative, fascinating characters, and a good deal to think about after we set the book down. But few humans are happy with these unseen alien intelligences, and Isabel is one of those acting on rebellious feelings against the makers of the Enclave. Gwynwood is largely Quaker, and this kind of defiance does not sit well with the other people in Isabel's community. Slonczewski's Quaker concerns are well-represented in the plot construction, but also in the characterization, especially in the way we see the concerns that motivate people.