Silly/serious planning for collapse
Mar. 12th, 2009 07:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hmpfI just met up with K., who is basically the only person I know in RL who sees 'the situation' practically exactly as I do. We met in a very decadent café, a strange place, we both keenly felt, to have an apocalyptic conversation... but then, really, everywhere is a strange place to have that kind of conversation, because it's just a strange *thing* to have a conversation about. And as we both live fairly frugally, there's no convincing moral reason for us not to allow ourselves that bit of luxury now and then, as long as it's still possible. Still, it adds an extra layer of surreality to an already surreal-feeling topic...
So. Having this kind of conversation with someone face to face is strange; it gives you some affirmation that, maybe, you're not entirely mad (although one should be careful with that kind of conclusion - we may just be two mad people reaffirming each other's delusions, and I *am* always reserving about 10% of my mind for doubt), but it also widens the gulf between you and the more conventionally acceptable view of reality, and increases cognitive dissonance.
Anyway... we had half-jokingly considered the 'homesteading' option during that conversation, i.e. the option of holing up somewhere remote and stocking up on basic supplies etc. (which is a ridiculous option even in America, to be honest, and even more ridiculous in densely populated Germany, especially if you're a penniless student. Also, it's extremely anti-social, and I'd rather do something more positive.)
So, inspired by that ridiculous idea, I began to wonder, during the twenty-minute walk home from that meeting, what it would really make sense to stock up on, just in case our, sadly, not-quite-worst-anymore [see below] expectations came true... And realised, maybe because I was walking: shoes! Specifically: two or so pairs of sturdy, long-lasting, ideally handmade (because those are fixable, unlike many industrially made ones) boots. If properly taken care of, those should last you a lifetime, with perhaps the occasional minor repair... Nearly everything else that you really need - food, clothes - would be easier to come by in a society thrown back to subsistence level than proper shoes. A lot of people still know how to garden, so you'd probably eventually be able to barter or work for food (or even learn to grow your own), at least if you live in an area where there's arable land. As for clothes, a lot of people can probably patch together something basically wearable; heck, I probably could, although it would look like shit *g*. But how many people can make shoes? Plus, shoes have been scarce even in previous crises (world wars etc.), when there were still many more shoemakers around than there are nowadays. They've always been a hot item on black markets...
Also, unlike food stocks, shoes won't go bad, and don't take much space...
See? This is what you come to my LJ for. *Truly* useful "investment tips." *g*
**
Re: not-quite-worst-anymore: Until very recently, "collapse of civilisation" was the worst case scenario, with "mild disruption" as the best case scenario and "serious disruption" as the middle-of-the-road option. It's moved out of that category into the middle range of imaginable futures with more recent scientific and political assessments - the best case scenario now being "serious disruption," and the worst case scenario(s) being "extinction of humans or of all oxygen-dependent life."
So. Having this kind of conversation with someone face to face is strange; it gives you some affirmation that, maybe, you're not entirely mad (although one should be careful with that kind of conclusion - we may just be two mad people reaffirming each other's delusions, and I *am* always reserving about 10% of my mind for doubt), but it also widens the gulf between you and the more conventionally acceptable view of reality, and increases cognitive dissonance.
Anyway... we had half-jokingly considered the 'homesteading' option during that conversation, i.e. the option of holing up somewhere remote and stocking up on basic supplies etc. (which is a ridiculous option even in America, to be honest, and even more ridiculous in densely populated Germany, especially if you're a penniless student. Also, it's extremely anti-social, and I'd rather do something more positive.)
So, inspired by that ridiculous idea, I began to wonder, during the twenty-minute walk home from that meeting, what it would really make sense to stock up on, just in case our, sadly, not-quite-worst-anymore [see below] expectations came true... And realised, maybe because I was walking: shoes! Specifically: two or so pairs of sturdy, long-lasting, ideally handmade (because those are fixable, unlike many industrially made ones) boots. If properly taken care of, those should last you a lifetime, with perhaps the occasional minor repair... Nearly everything else that you really need - food, clothes - would be easier to come by in a society thrown back to subsistence level than proper shoes. A lot of people still know how to garden, so you'd probably eventually be able to barter or work for food (or even learn to grow your own), at least if you live in an area where there's arable land. As for clothes, a lot of people can probably patch together something basically wearable; heck, I probably could, although it would look like shit *g*. But how many people can make shoes? Plus, shoes have been scarce even in previous crises (world wars etc.), when there were still many more shoemakers around than there are nowadays. They've always been a hot item on black markets...
Also, unlike food stocks, shoes won't go bad, and don't take much space...
See? This is what you come to my LJ for. *Truly* useful "investment tips." *g*
**
Re: not-quite-worst-anymore: Until very recently, "collapse of civilisation" was the worst case scenario, with "mild disruption" as the best case scenario and "serious disruption" as the middle-of-the-road option. It's moved out of that category into the middle range of imaginable futures with more recent scientific and political assessments - the best case scenario now being "serious disruption," and the worst case scenario(s) being "extinction of humans or of all oxygen-dependent life."
