51–60 of 178 posts
Nope. Not even close. We survived the Civil Rights movement and Vietnam War protests. For all our online angst and whining, we're not even 1/10th as far toward the tipping point as we were back then.
So this is actually something I've thought a lot about, in terms of whether it's actually rational to be a prepper or if it's just a fun hobby. In nominal terms, your risk of dying in a society-wide collapse is actually larger than your risk of dying in a car accident.[1] So if you wouldn't think twice about taking basic steps to lower your chances of vehicle death (e.g. wearing a seatbelt) then it's absolutely ratio…
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.
In a post apocalyptic society it's kill or be killed.
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 f…
True! I remember one time when our transformer blew up, and we lived for several weeks without electricity until we got a replacement.
Nothing like listening to the world cup on a battery-powered radio. Fun times!
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.
When disaster strikes it may be very natural and expected to save oneself, if possible. That's survival instinct. But prepare for it is not admirable, to say the least. It's being selfish with intent.
Max Levchin says this in the article "It’s one of the few things about Silicon Valley that I actively dislike—the sense that we are superior giants who move the needle and, even if it’s our own failure, must be spared."
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 pil…
I've got a titanium spork and some dental floss in my backpack and in the trunk of my car I've got a hi-vis vest, white hard hat, and a two-way radio. Am I missing anything? Are some of these prepper people are missing out on the key concept that to live by your wits you need wits? Or maybe they're aware of that and that's why they stockpile the shotgun shells and dehydrated water capsules...?
Once out of floss, I can either pull my teeth out (Well, OK, every _other_ tooth) or kill myself. Life w/o floss is unimaginable.
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.
"Oh please, what you're doing is morally wrong. Shame on you!"
reddit may be valued at 600 million (orl?) but steve huffman's net worth is in the millions/tens of millions at most. you wouldn't call him super rich when he can barely afford a nice house in Palo Alto :)
Let's also look at this article's source, the New Yorker, as a vicarious observer and critic of anything that veers off their path of caring/obsessing about depresssing novelists/filmmaker s and actors, fashion, and all things analogue as the solution to the salvation of the light of humanity and culture, of which they perceive themselves as the clear torchbearers.