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Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

newyorker.com

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Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#41

Post by Karunamon »

bambax wrote: post #25

I was afraid this article was going to upset me, but in fact it doesn't shy away from the more difficult questions, namely A/ the reason we're "skating on really thin cultural ice right now" is in no small part due to the emergence and dominance of social media, so it's quite rich that the people responsible for chaos are trying to protect themselves from it B/ it's quite morally repugnant to want to survive alone if…

Would you elaborate on B a bit? I don't quite see the moral value judgment in surviving while society collapses.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#42

Post by nickff »

ttepasse wrote: post #34

So. You're not one of the 0.1%. Society "collapsed", whatever than means. You did go through hardship, hunger, lack of Instagram, pain, loss of loved ones, loss of property but also amazing feats of solidarity and human compassion. It still doesn't really look OK and you're daily mourning the life you and society lost. Then there lands a Gulfstream, out climbs a well fed billionaire straight out his fancy bunker. The…

Envy does not justify murder.

Most modern philosophers have taken the view that envy itself is immoral.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#43

Post by ucaetano »

ttepasse wrote: post #34

So. You're not one of the 0.1%. Society "collapsed", whatever than means. You did go through hardship, hunger, lack of Instagram, pain, loss of loved ones, loss of property but also amazing feats of solidarity and human compassion. It still doesn't really look OK and you're daily mourning the life you and society lost. Then there lands a Gulfstream, out climbs a well fed billionaire straight out his fancy bunker. The…

How would the gulfstream land without a crew properly maintaining the landing strip, clearing it of debris, providing air control, etc?

Not to mention that fuel spoils fast. Gasoline lasts only a few months in normal conditions, up to a year in optimal conditions. A small detail that almost all apocalypse movies seem to ignore...

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#44

Post by maxerickson »

the_duke wrote: post #6
lawless123 wrote: post #3

>lot of people stocking up on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, A post apocalypse in which internet survives seems far fetched.

No but they would survive the collapse of one country and it's economy. (Not saying that this is a smart way to park your money...)

The number in the ledger will obviously survive, will the value?

I mean, say I have some food that I want to trade (not just me, me and my big squad of well armed killers). Are you going to trade instead with the guy who says he has lots of bitcoin?

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#46

Post by dmode »

Having grown up in poverty in a third world country that is extremely chaotic, the doomsday obsession in America is laughable and a little disturbing at the same time. Society doesn't break down like that. Can someone explain why is there such paranoia in the US about societal collapse ? It it video games, movies, media frenzy, hyper partisan politics ? All of it ? I know people who have created bunkers and stock pilled food to prepare for apocalypse. Seriously !!

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#47

Post by TetOn »

che_shirecat wrote: post #32

>He is less focussed on a specific threat Call me a nit, but why are there typos in an article from the new yorker? Edit: apparently doubling the consonant is something they just do - http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-double-l

Indeed, cf cöoperation and etc... in their pages.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#48

Post by mintone »

che_shirecat wrote: post #32

>He is less focussed on a specific threat Call me a nit, but why are there typos in an article from the new yorker? Edit: apparently doubling the consonant is something they just do - http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-double-l

Are you focussing on the word 'focussed'? That is a correct spelling of the word and if memory serves, the New Yorker have written about how their style guide requires it.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#49

Post by mywittyname »

ucaetano wrote: post #20

I grew up in a 3rd world small farm, raising pigs, chicken, setting traps and planting a bunch of stuff, not to mention a light version of WROL (without rule of law). Reading this article I feel that I'm more prepared for the apocalypse than all the "super-rich"...

Because you absolutely are. I've always thought that anybody who seriously thinks society is going to collapse should just move to a developing country, buy a farm, and get-on getting-on. Because there's really no way to prepare other than to get started on your post-collapse life.

I grew up on a farm in very rural USA and we often face mini-"disasters". The roads would be impassable due to snow, power would go out for weeks sometimes. My life has shown me that you don't prepare for disasters, you just do without.

You're cold, hungry, and miserable. Guns and ammo doesn't help because there's nothing really to hunt, same goes for fishing (most people don't live within walking distance of a non-polluted waterway). Better not get too attached to electricity or driving because it's going to be impossible to store any significant amount of fuel.

A collapsed society resembles rural Afghanistan or India more than it does whatever wild west these people are imagining.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#50

Post by jly »

ucaetano wrote: post #20

I grew up in a 3rd world small farm, raising pigs, chicken, setting traps and planting a bunch of stuff, not to mention a light version of WROL (without rule of law). Reading this article I feel that I'm more prepared for the apocalypse than all the "super-rich"...

I agree with this, too. Most of the super rich have wealth and resources that matter in a stable global capitalistic economy/society, but these will have no value with the breakdown of that system. The truly important skills, post-disaster, will be those needed to survive without civilization. The ones that survive will be those that already have those skills or are quick to adapt, AND are physically located in areas with enough resources to survive.
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