Impending Economic Collapse!! will you survive? (TEDx Edition)

I recently came upon this YouTube video. I love to think about economic collapse and general survival scenarios. So when I saw the title of this TEDx talk I knew I had to watch. But after a few minutes of watching this video, I realized that I would never follow this persons advice. Here they are, on stage giving terrible advice to people. Advice that I believe could get people robbed, assaulted or worse. I've come here for other opinions on the matter. I'm not sure how to imbed videos into posts. Here is a link.

m.youtube.com...

a reply to: Innocuous

Thank you, Ill be checking this out after work

originally posted by: Innocuous

But after a few minutes of watching this video, I realized that I would never follow this persons advice.

Ted has been co-opted by some entity. It used to be okay, but now you can't trust anything they post. There's always something that's just out of sync with the truth or reality. It's kind'a weird when you stop and really think about it.

Like everything else it has been co-opted for a leftist agenda. The old ones were fantastic, but now its just people getting up there and spouting nonsense 7 times out of 10.

a reply to: Innocuous

I think you and she are talking about entirely different stages of progression, after an economic collapse.

In the first weeks and months after such a collapse, looters, banditry, robbery, and other sundry violent and criminal acts will be rife, with those who are sound of body and weak of heart taking to the streets to steal what wares they can from others. This will only last so long, and cannot be sustainable long term.

There will come a time when there is not enough resource worth stealing any more, where the food has gone completely. At this point, things are going to change rapidly. The bandits will have killed one another off for the most part, realising that the only people who have a steady supply of food are those who have been stealing it. That will leave only one reasonable thing to do, and that is band together to plant seeds, grow crops, fish and hunt game.

Isolationism will not work, will be too intensive and allow no time for other pursuits, other than the grind of hunting and consuming. That way lay only madness. Working in groups would make survival not only possible, but practical and psychologically healthy.

a reply to: TrueBrit

That's an interesting opinion.

Though, we've got robbers,bandits, looters and violent criminals now. We've got police, welfare, prisons also. You think it might be a bit hairy for a few weeks or months?

I'd suppose there would be years of clobbering and stealing going on. There would be cars and guns and other hard goods that would retain value for decades.

a reply to: Innocuous

What I am saying is that twinkles and donuts and chocolate and coffee are going to run out at some point, all the comestibles the things you love, are going to run the hell out eventually. Heck, even bullets are going to start to be thin on the ground in places, because not everyone has a reloading bench, especially in cities. After a time, theiving ones dinner is going to stop being practical, because there will be nothing edible left to steal.

So someone is going to have to grow food, and that food is going to have to be farmed, tended, kept from spoiling in the ground, crops reaped, harvests stored safely, grain ground, bread made, the old fashioned way, and that is best done by the hands of the many, not by the labours of just a few.

There will always be nefarious sorts, bandits and the like, but in terms of practicality and sustainability, it's going to be an easier and more pleasant time, if people come together and work as a community, than if they just decide to kill one another over the last full mag, or the last in date candy bar.

a reply to: TrueBrit

And my question is, how long will the pillaging last? You originally said you think we are talking about two different stages of collapse. She says herself in the beginning "what are you going to do during the economic collapse? Store guns and canned food or reach out to your neighbors? ". She is saying those are two different options

originally posted by: TrueBrit
Isolationism will not work, will be too intensive and allow no time for other pursuits, other than the grind of hunting and consuming. That way lay only madness.

Only for a year or two. If you've got a wife and kids working with you, I believe isolationism is a very practical way to survive the first years of madness.

I can only imagine what life would be like where I live ... if you just turned off Welfare ... let alone turned off all the money.

a reply to: Innocuous

They could be both.

It probably will be necessary to reach for your neighbours hand in unity, but both of you are probably going to have to lay the other hand on your nearest tool of defence, if only so that your neighbourhood does not get overrun with looters and bandits from other areas.

I have a plan for if my country goes totally to the dogs. I will call a meeting of all the business owners and residents of our street, and lay it on them thusly:

The country is going to hell in a handbasket, and it's a matter of time before the crap wave breaks on this place too. It's my intention to see this street barricaded off, fortified, guarded and protected by the end of the month at least, and this is what we will need to do in order to make it happen.

Block both ends of the street with a barricade constructed of fencing, and parked cars with jammed brakes. Portcullises to be constructed at each entry point. Baffles and kill boxes outside and in. The barricade will have ramparts, manned by bowmen, spearmen, and by folks armed with home made grenades. In the centre of the street, a tower will be erected out of scaffold, housing a lookout tower large enough for four lookouts, one for each compass point, and a hardwired communications system will relay warning to ground level through loudhailers.

In the event of a warning going up, everyone drops whatever they are doing, and picks up whatever tools they have to hand, makes ready to defend the access points and any area where a weakness in our defences comes up. Someone gets in, we mangle them, and throw them back out so that the attackers know what they are getting.

As time goes on, we will improve our defences with better materials as they become available, and bring in more resources too. We will use gardens as places to grow crops and keep animals. We will begin sending out scouts to locate good people in bad situations, and help them, bring them into the compound to add to our numbers, and increase their survival chances. Over time we will extend the size of our barricades, build higher our ramparts, increase the number of people we can help, the number of animals we can keep and crops we can farm, and the space and resources we can fall back on. We will collect any gear attackers have on them when we butcher them, clothes, cigarettes, food, tradables, weapons, and we will use them for the benefit of the community. We will save as many good people as we can, we will kill as many evil people as we can, we will survive, we will thrive, we will start a free kingdom right here in this piss pot town, and when it grows to encompass this borough, we will know we did a beautiful thing, and did it well.

Bare in mind, we are not permitted to keep guns for our own defence here in Britain, so my solutions are largely related to the necessity to go primal to a degree. Your solutions may differ, but the necessity for unity and community will be the same.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: Innocuous

I think you and she are talking about entirely different stages of progression, after an economic collapse.

In the first weeks and months after such a collapse, looters, banditry, robbery, and other sundry violent and criminal acts will be rife, with those who are sound of body and weak of heart taking to the streets to steal what wares they can from others. This will only last so long, and cannot be sustainable long term.

There will come a time when there is not enough resource worth stealing any more, where the food has gone completely. At this point, things are going to change rapidly. The bandits will have killed one another off for the most part, realising that the only people who have a steady supply of food are those who have been stealing it. That will leave only one reasonable thing to do, and that is band together to plant seeds, grow crops, fish and hunt game.

Isolationism will not work, will be too intensive and allow no time for other pursuits, other than the grind of hunting and consuming. That way lay only madness. Working in groups would make survival not only possible, but practical and psychologically healthy.

All true. Long term, survival will favor the socially inclined. We are social animals, and our survival is intrinsic upon that.

a reply to: redhorse

The fact that we are social animals goes without saying. It's like having a discussion about thunderstorms and roughly interjecting "THE SKY IS BLUE!"

Sure it is little Timmy, now let the adults talk.

a reply to: Innocuous

Hey...

That was uncalled for. There was a significant focus on and discussion of isolationism, and one poster went as far as to say that they had no wish to go into a community setting for a significant period after the beginning of the collapse, to protect their families (despite community being the best defence against threat for a family. More eyes looking out for your family is better, simple mathematics really). It's a legitimate call and one that redhorse had every reason to make.

If the situation gets bad , you need to forget communities. Others just increase the odds of corruption.Just close family at best.As little interaction with others as possible. Have a well thought out and planned bugout location with replenishable food and clean water.Out well away from major population centers. Generated electricity , solar panels and a water wheel if possible. Throw away phones . Plenty of defensive firepower and ammo and the knowledge of when and how to use it.
Since I am not that far removed from "The Good Ol Days" I still remember how to live that style of life.

a reply to: TrueBrit

More eyes looking out for your family is better,

Yeah , right. More hands to take from you and stab you in the back. You need to realize in a case like this , everyone would be out for themselves.It is not a Sunday outing provided by your local church. It will be a cut-throat world. And with a strategy like that , you would be deemed "easy pickens"

a reply to: Gothmog

That is only going to work for a few in even the short to medium term.

The rest will need some semblance of community in order to provide a reliable watch for the hours of darkness, provide childcare while parents hunt and gather, provide for education of the young in that time, tend to and cultivate crops, make and repair garments, tools, weapons and the like, maintain stocks of food and water. These things are better done in bulk, with many hands and not few.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: Gothmog

That is only going to work for a few in even the short to medium term.

The rest will need some semblance of community in order to provide a reliable watch for the hours of darkness, provide childcare while parents hunt and gather, provide for education of the young in that time, tend to and cultivate crops, make and repair garments, tools, weapons and the like, maintain stocks of food and water. These things are better done in bulk, with many hands and not few.

Uh no. Most of my prep is already completed . Short term ? How long do you think it will take to recover ? I like your optimism , but I got eye problems and dont see it happening within about 10 years of a total world market collapse.
You seem to count on "good folks" all well fed sitting around a campfire singing "Kumbaya" together . I like a good fantasy novel every now and then . However , I do realize it is only just that

ETA :

That is only going to work for a few in even the short to medium term.

Yeah , the few that survive. Look at the rioting that goes on. You think you are going to be able to go up to someone and ask them to share ? As part of the collective ? Borg style ?

a reply to: Gothmog

When you see film of the black Friday "shopping crowds" and realize bitches will cut you over a toaster.... the thought of community is laughable.

a reply to: Advantage
Exactly.

a reply to: TrueBrit

Large communities don't work because they're large enough to protect from loss - large communities work because they can afford loss. (To be able to afford loss, you need steady surplus to grow new members.) So, unless you are willing to think in terms of human surplus, its best to have as small a group as possible (so resources are viable / steady.)