This post was made to speculate about viable long term life plans for men in a world that is about to collapse. But before we all start speculating on the future, a half-assed modern history lesson for the crowd:

In 2007, a previously strong US economy went into recession. The citizenry's response, as always, was to immediately care more about assigning blame on various politicians than actually addressing the underlying problem. In 2009, a new (half-black!) political scapegoat was in the US Oval Office, and the recession was now worldwide. All attempts to prolong the inevitable had little affect. After hundreds of years of globalization that led to huge strides forward for (some of) humanity, what will happen when we have to take those same strides backwards? When governments become insolvent and global trade ceases, what will happen to the many populations on the planet that cannot sustain themselves without imports?

We've become dependent on every level. The people are dependent on the government and the government is dependent on corporations. Countries are dependent on each other, and an entire gender has negotiated itself into being nominally independent of the other, in exchange for becoming dependent on welfare instead. And all of this is going to destroy us once those connections we need disappear.

Once the municipal taps shut off and all of the coddled middle class fourth generation desk workers realize what is happening, the pitchforks and torches come out. They bang on the doors of the Senate. Politicians all airlift themselves out to their self sufficient, pre-prepared, and well-guarded estates. There is no food or water at the local supermarkets and no oil is being sold. People will all too suddenly understand that the comforts of modern life and abundance of food was the only thing keeping them from being the animals they are; willing to do anything to survive. It will be chaos.

tldr starts here

So men, I propose we start giving a lot more discussion towards how we are going to be the ones enjoying that glorious anarchy, and not the ones in the thick of the mosh pit. I propose four actions every man should be taking today in preparation for the fall of an empire.

  1. Remote Property There is no other way to say it - there are an absurd number of humans alive today because we have the infrastructure to support it. Once that infrastructure is gone, people are going to die. They are going to keep dying until everyone left alive has a stable source of food. And you do not want to be anywhere near desperate hungry people. Either pick somewhere remote, or build a shelter that you can defend from a small army.

  2. Self-Sustain The entire bottom rung of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs is essentially provided to us today by our respective governments. Some day, this will not be the case. Before that time you need to have a stable source of food (gardening, fishing, hunting, farming) and a stable source of fresh water. You may need a more permanent energy solution than a gas generator, or you had otherwise plan to live a life without electricity.

  3. Ween Yourself Off of Money Okay, money is awesome right now while it still has value beyond kindling. But even if its just having gasoline, canned food, and a bugout bag, be ready for the worst possible scenario of your entire bank account becoming inaccessible or worth half of a potato overnight. You do not want to be one of those guys banging on the bankhouse doors when the depression hits.

  4. Network I saved what I consider to be the most important for last. Capitalism functions by delivering the things we want, quickly, with an insincere smile. Once it has been replaced by a barter economy, I intend to become a local nexus for trade and reap the benefits. When people are living on scraps, I have every intention of being the man who is friends with the butcher, the barber, the chemist, the farmer, the rancher, the doctor, the mechanic, several truckers, and the priest. Having access to these people and skills will no longer just be a route to a quick lay or outsourced to the yellow pages - it would instead turn you into the de-facto clan leader.

I believe that is the best way to look at the oncoming collapse: Right now we are small fish in one world-sized pond. But soon that single pond will become a million tiny ponds, and we are poised to become to be the biggest and baddest sharks in those turbid waters.

There is a lot I have missed and many angles to cover this topic from. If you have any ideas for thriving in anarchy, please contribute.