Who "prospers" in a societal collapse?

tanstaafl72555

tanstaafl72555

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Folks who can do stuff.

Since family concerns forced me to return from moving out of country after I sold my business, I decided to focus on developing "fixit" skills. I ran a home improvement, or "handyman" business, where I fixed washing machines, toilets, microwaves, and "stuff" in general. Youtube was a gold mine for me. It is ok money, but the confidence I learned, combined with a basic knowledge of building (my dad was a builder and I grew up doing basic construction trades) has been priceless.

I still have areas where I am very very weak (welding, hvac, radio/ham comms, electronics), but the insecurity that leadst to moaning because "I don't have a job" is nowhere near what it would be.

If I were a younger man, I would DEFINITELY DEFINITELY DEFINITELY either take electrical/electronics course at community college, or make my kids do so :) . The person who can generate power has the keys if we have a CME or EMP event, or the economy/society is ruined by stupid politicians

Anyways, this article on who is able to actually build a commercial base for business in the disaster that is Venezuela is very very insightful, imo.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/feat...own-creates-a-nation-of-desperate-capitalists
 
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Yep. Life Skills. That's what we call it, whether it's skinning a deer, building a fire, soldering plumbing pipes, hanging a door. Fixing what's broke - That's what we specialize in. Very rarely does a professional darken my doorway.
And your right, with a little bit of time and some research you can do just about anything that needs to be done during hard times. Do the research NOW before there is no Youtube (btw they just had an outage last night) or easily obtained research.

FWIW the radio/comms part was one of the last pieces that I recently solved. I am now a licensed amateur radio operator, and just like the internet and this forum, it opens up a WHOLE new world of stuff.
 
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rdinatal said:
Which brought up a question... If there is a collapse will a HAM license really matter?
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No in emergencies its not needed. But i wouldnt want to learn how to drive when nobody has a license. It would be chaos. Hard to practice comms on the amateur bands without it when theres still rule of law. Honestly its not that hard or expensive anymore
 
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rdinatal said:
Which brought up a question... If there is a collapse will a HAM license really matter?
Click to expand...

No...

IMO, in the event of a societal collapse, no licenses, permits or regulations are going to matter.

It will be "Law of the Wolves" (Kipling) and the only semblance of order to be found will be the moral code of individuals/groups and how firmly they hold to it.

That said, learning how to do something now is key. After an upheaval, folks attempting to learn how to be self-reliant, whether it's shooting, defending, fixing stuff, procuring food, etc are going to be behind the 8-ball.
 
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put it like this, if you're NOT a licensed ham, you're not gonna operate on my SHTF repeater until some training and vetting takes place, so might as well gitrdun now ;)
 
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I myself will be surprised if the USA enters into some kind of Mad Max post apocalyptic order. I think there are a number of gradations possible in a bust. Most of the guys in here read the stories of that guy down in Argentina. It was a HUGE bust in 2003 and there was a lot of unrest, but no gangs of cannibals walking the streets. Lots of the traditional structures remained in place. Venezuela is worse, of course.

The shame of it is, when I was living in Colombia back in 1978, Venezuela was the rich pampered nation. Better off than Chile. Gleaming cities, growing middle class, prosperous nation. Socialism is of the devil. Kill steal and destroy. It is very sad.

Could happen to us here, if people are stupid enough. Not ruling anything out.
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
Interestingly, it's "folks who can do stuff" tend to prosper at all other times, as well.

;)
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This is definitely true, but in a time of abundance and prosperity, there is a whole sector which is only there to make the wheels of commerce run smoothly. When there is no engine, and these people have no basic, practical skills, they will be badly hurt. I wish EVERYONE would make their kids have a set of basic skills that will be helpful to others on a basic, or close to sustenance level. Then if they want to specialize in another area, great! This guy in Venezuela will not only prosper, but will in fact be able to accumulate assets on the cheap which will be valued like crazy when/if their economy ever turns around (disclaimer: all economies DO eventually turn around).

Your remark is so very very true.
 
rdinatal said:
Which brought up a question... If there is a collapse will a HAM license really matter?
Click to expand...

As others have said, it won't matter then but it makes it easier/possible to prepare now. Become a HAM and ask others how to easily program up that $35 boefang you snagged off amazon and with a license there will be lots of help. Then they'll want to show you alternate antennas, and operating modes, and power sources, etc, etc and get you onto nets to practice. If you're not a HAM, then the free help crowd tends to not be there as readily if at all.
 
tanstaafl72555 said:
Folks who can do stuff.
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Oh, I thought you were going to say the politicians with the private armies who can come up with new ways to control the now panicked population and fortify their power base while everyone else starves.

But your answer is much more positive.


As someone who grew up in CA and lived in the big cities and whatnot, I've got to say that it's really difficult for anyone in the city to learn to do anything. Before I moved here I couldn't do much of anything outside of high tech. Not that there was no interest but there was zero support network and a bunch of very solid impediments (things like HOAs that prevent you from doing anything in your garage/driveway/yard even remotely resembling anything). There were no trees to cut, no structures to modify/build, no streams to fish, etc. Lived in a tiny townhouse, couldn't paint or do electrical or plumbing or anything. It's hard.
 
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Folks that have stuff will also prosper. Nothing comes in handy like a well stocked nuts and bolts and whatever junk assortment along with basic hand tools.
 
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