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Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

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Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#21

Post by arethuza »

arouqa wrote: post #20
aub3bhat wrote: post #16

I think a lot of rich people underestimate the importance of law and order which allows them to benfit-from/wield their wealth. A bunch of guns, food packets or gold bars are unlikely to be of any use in case of a true catastrophe. The sense of power that wealth brings evaporates quickly, a quick litmus test is how few wealthy like Maddoff can escape law enforcement, even when having complete knowledge of their own c…

In the past, they would have founded their own nation with a personal army by now.

Maintaining the loyalty of those you invite to protect you can be a bit tricky - according to one source that's how the Anglo Saxons were invited to what became England to help protect a post Roman society of Britons from attacks from what is now Scotland (Picts and Dalriadic Scots):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_settlement_of_Brit...

I'd expect the loyalty to a rich employer would last right up to the point where money becomes worthless - after that exactly what bargaining power would a rich person have? Up to a certain point in history you achieved and maintained royal status largely by being a stupendous bad-ass...

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#23

Post by djrogers »

mac01021 wrote: post #7
f- wrote: post #4

The last time this story made rounds on HN, quite a few readers were ripping into the people described in the article, and it sure feels good to do so, but... I don't know about you, but if I had more money than I conceivably ever needed, I sure would contemplate having a helicopter on standby and a luxury compound in some scenic part of the world. You know, just for fun, just in case. In fact, I suspect that once yo…

> the two goals are not mutually exclusive. Every dollar you spend on your bunker is a dollar you don't spend helping the world keep out of the sort of trouble that would make your bunker necessary. I'm not saying you aren't entitled to spend your time and money however you like, but there is a mathematical sense in which the goals do conflict, even if only via opportunity cost.

> Every dollar you spend on your bunker is a dollar you don't spend helping the world keep out of the sort of trouble that would make your bunker necessary.

But it's also a dollar that's been spent - paying for school supplies for the daughter of the welder employed by the manufacturer, the medicine the truck driver's mom needs, and a few drinks at the bar for the retired vet who ran the backhoe for the bunker.

The economy isn't a closed system, so anything that gets the super rich to spend their money rather than stockpile it will benefit the economy as a whole.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#25

Post by UweSchmidt »

Realistically, society can make a comeback from pretty much any conceivable catastrophy. Similarly to the situation in communist countries, where important things were scarce and money was worthless, surviving would depend on cooperation and mutual trust, not on defending your bunker and playing out a Mad Max movie.

While self-defense has its place I wonder which attitude would prevail.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#26

Post by robertk »

UweSchmidt wrote: post #25

Realistically, society can make a comeback from pretty much any conceivable catastrophy. Similarly to the situation in communist countries, where important things were scarce and money was worthless, surviving would depend on cooperation and mutual trust, not on defending your bunker and playing out a Mad Max movie. While self-defense has its place I wonder which attitude would prevail.

Not AI.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#27

Post by analogmemory »

I find it curious that people prepare for a "Doomsday" scenario. I can fathom a localized catastrophe like an earthquake, or extreme weather, or even a horrible bomb attack. But the extreme examples seem more related to our entertainment consumption than based on a real reality.

I feel like we're more likely to die from old age than anything from space or zombies. Maybe I just can't do the level of paranoia that some people take on. It seems an unnecessary waste of your brain space to always be on alert.

or maybe i'll just be the first to die. shrug

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#28

Post by gallerdude »

robertk wrote: post #26
UweSchmidt wrote: post #25

Realistically, society can make a comeback from pretty much any conceivable catastrophy. Similarly to the situation in communist countries, where important things were scarce and money was worthless, surviving would depend on cooperation and mutual trust, not on defending your bunker and playing out a Mad Max movie. While self-defense has its place I wonder which attitude would prevail.

Not AI.

I mean, with AI we end up with utopia for everyone forever OR a mass extinction event. Seeing I'm going to die anyways, I'll take those odds.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#29

Post by woofyman »

pjc50 wrote: post #9
f- wrote: post #4

The last time this story made rounds on HN, quite a few readers were ripping into the people described in the article, and it sure feels good to do so, but... I don't know about you, but if I had more money than I conceivably ever needed, I sure would contemplate having a helicopter on standby and a luxury compound in some scenic part of the world. You know, just for fun, just in case. In fact, I suspect that once yo…

> ultra-rich may actually have something to worry about True, especially in less-developed or stable countries where kidnap gangs are a real problem. > it's not the cookie-cutter, mixed income, urban sprawl neighborhoods that are going to be set ablaze It tends to be the dense, liminal, downtown areas that are set ablaze. Being well off certainly does help you get away from the fires. But I think a lot of people disl…

>It tends to be the dense, liminal, downtown areas that are set ablaze. Being well off certainly does help you get away from the fires.

That's only at first. Once all the food is gone, they'll go after the rich in their compounds.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#30

Post by jbyers »

throwaway2016a wrote: post #22
jbyers wrote: post #18

Discussed two days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13462865

I'll probably get down voted for asking but why post this yourself rather than up-vote me when I posted the exact same link 40 minutes earlier?

Sorry, I scanned the thread but missed your link.
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