“So this is what it looks like when a society is starting to collapse,” the man standing behind the counter at the hardware store said matter-of-factly. The remark had been directed at no one in particular, but generally at anyone standing nearby. As I was among that audience, I looked at him inquisitively, eliciting in return a look indicating that his observation should be intuitively obvious to even the casual observer.
“We should not be this busy,” he continued. “People are normally out Christmas shopping for the latest tech gadgets for their kids, but instead they are spending their hard-earned money here.” I had to agree with his observation, because the place was packed, and it was obvious that his inventory was disappearing from the glass showcases and from the wall behind the counter quicker than the store could replenish it.
“We have manufacturers that aren’t taking any more orders. We even have a manufacturer that has shut down production and furloughed the entire workforce. I guess when we run out, we run out.” He excused himself and joined his staff to help restock the shelves as well as operate the register.
As I surveyed the store, I noticed no discernible demographic pattern among the customers. They included elderly ladies, young couples, construction workers, police officers and hipster techies as well as people from virtually every ethnic and socio-economic background. They would have made the perfect tapestry for a politician’s campaign stop.
“So this is what it looks like when a society starts to collapse,” I reflected on what the man behind the counter had said. As melodramatic as his words were, they would be understood by any student of human history.
But it raised questions in my mind: “Does social decline precede economic decline? Does the decay of social graces, the protocols that define civilized interaction, the written and unwritten laws of the land, precipitate the ruin of a nation, or is it the other way around? Is it a vicious cycle where one feeds the other, and if so, can the destructive feedback loop be reversed?”
Based on what I observed in the store, I’m inclined to believe that people are concerned about social collapse, in whatever form that may take. Publications such as The Casey Report implore its readership to hedge against inflation (as well as deflation) by dividing their portfolio into balanced thirds spread across asset classes and political jurisdictions, but what does the erosion of a fiat currency really mean?
I would suggest that very much depends on where you live. In more resilient communities, in which economic actors all create value, the impact may in fact be little more than a moderate nuisance. Various South American countries have shown that, despite their governments’ penchant for destroying the nation’s currency at predictable intervals, life can go on. As a result, while people in those countries know that things can periodically get tougher, they also have become resolved to soldiering through the hardships, knowing that the latest challenging period will pass.
By contrast, with their advanced – and leveraged – economies and large urban centers that are highly dependent on government subsidies as well as consumer supply chains that are extended, the social impact of a fiat currency collapse in the US and Europe could be far more profound.
Such an event would likely be even further exacerbated, and significantly so, by the absence of such experiences to most Western nations in recent memory. In the United States, a small but emerging subculture known as “preppers” focus their resources and attention on developing personal resiliency in response to the perceived deterioration of both financial and social infrastructure. While the theories and actions of “preppers” range from the sublime to the ridiculous, it is undeniable that the financial, social and logistical fabric of the United States has been stretched very thin.
This tenuous position in turn manifests itself as a palpable level of stress readily observed in many people. There is no longer a sense that “everything will be OK.” In conversations with people, I get the sense that people feel very uncertain about the future, and not in a hopeful way. They see their prospects as having limited upside with virtually unlimited downward risk. There is a prevailing belief that this is as good as it is going to be for a long time. It is this subsurface tension that was palpable among shoppers in the hardware store.
You see, the hardware store I was in was a gun store. What on earth would compel me to visit a gun store so close to the horrible tragedy in Connecticut? As some readers know, firearms played a significant role in my former professional life in the military. The truth is I wanted to get a sense for what’s actually going on in the gun industry, as opposed to the manufactured “reality” presented by the mainstream media.
Having returned from serving a customer, the owner of the gun store continued his observations.
“It’s different this time. The last time, with the Clinton gun ban, people knew that it would be temporary. The economy was good and people didn’t really care. This time… well, it’s different.” He then elaborated on the reason that one manufacturer had shut down its fabrication facility: Apparently it was unwilling to be stuck with inventory that at a stroke of a pen will become contraband.
In reply to my follow-on question as to what he meant when he said society was starting to collapse, he answered, “People talk about debt, a recession that won’t go away and how we are on track to bankrupting the country. This is all true. But they are all part of a bigger problem.”
“What problem is that?” I asked.
“Respect,” he said, with just a hint of bitterness. “Treating people with disrespect has become a way of doing business, a way of life. When a culture ceases to demand respect for life or livelihood, anything and everything is fair game.”
At this point another gentleman joined the conversation, adding, “You know, these tragedies are a politician’s best friend. It allows them to take the public’s eye off issues like financial woes and cutbacks in benefits.”
In my view, the spectacle in the gun store, which apparently has played out nationwide, is a clear indication that people are doing the equivalent of “shorting” social stability. This is clearly concerning, because the extent to which we can plan our future is directly related to the faith we can reasonably place in social stability.
It may be presumptive, but in my view, people who rush out to purchase firearms in anticipation of gun-control measures are not part of the “gun culture.” The “gun culture” already has its arsenal stocked up. The “last-minute shoppers” are people who believe that one day they may need a gun and may not be able to buy one. These are the same people who clean out the grocery store before the first big winter storm hits.
As for the logistics of controlling access to firearms, I suspect that in short order, it will prove to be an academic point anyway, perhaps even more futile than the War on Drugs.
The relevant agents include: crypto currency, open-source hardware, 3D printing, and Dark Net exchanges like The Silk Road.
On the topic of technical limitations to keeping guns out of the hands of the citizenry, let me direct your attention to the following article on a gunsmith who “printed” a gun. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? I don’t know, but I do know that it is inevitable. The first group that will make a go at it will likely be people who are legally prohibited from owning firearms, yet their livelihood depends on access to weapons; in other words, members of criminal organizations. Shortly behind them will be technically gifted people who, one can only hope, are imbued with decency and respect for human life.
Many people move through cultural shifts like this without recognizing them until well after the fact. But those who see an inchoate trend can capitalize on it effectively, in all manner of ways.
Legendary speculator and contrarian investor Doug Casey has long had a keen eye for such things, and he focuses it as much on culture worldwide as he does investment possibilities. That, along with his highly principled libertarian perspective, often makes for thought-provoking presentations by him. His long track record of pulling no punches has also contributed to Doug regularly enjoying standing-room-only audiences wherever he speaks.
But you don’t need to go anywhere to get wide-ranging, in-depth access to Doug Casey’s thoughts and ideas. His recently published book, Totally Incorrect, touches upon many topics and gives one a solid base for understanding this iconoclast. If you’ve ever wondered what makes a self-made millionaire successful, this book will provide you with a stimulating, entertaining answer. Learn more and order your copy of Totally Incorrect today.
sangell says:
When I heard the news yesterday at the airport that there had been another school shooting I wasn’t surprised but was relieved that it wasn’t a mass murder event and had been carried out with a shotgun. However it did bring to mind my one semester at Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, D.C. in 1967. Wilson was the last majority white high school in D.C. and served the affluent NW section of the city. Like all other D.C. high schools in those days it had an ROTC type program and a Cadet Corps of several hundred male students. These uniformed students drilled with working M-1 Garand rifles. They weren’t loaded of course but there was nothing to stop any or all the cadets from bringing their own ammo to school and loading their weapons. No one saw any danger in allowing hundreds of teenage boys to carry military rifles around a public school because there wasn’t any danger in those days.
As I said ALL DC high schools had a Cadet Corp back then and I recall there were something like
14 public high schools in those days with Wilson being the only one with that was majority white.
Consider what that meant. Say 3000 Cadets of whom 80% at least were black teenage boys being armed by the DC public school system with working semi-automatic military rifles! There was an armory in the basement of Woodrow Wilson High School that may have other, more powerful weapons in its inventory too! Combined, and they did combine for parades and other events, these Cadet units comprised the most potentially powerful military or police force in the capital city of the United States! That no one, in those days, saw it as ‘dangerous’ to have teenage boys taught to use and even carry military rifles down high school corridors ought to give pause to those who today insist ‘guns’ are the problem. No, they aren’t. The problem are the social and cultural changes that have taken place in the United States over the past 50 years that make what was normal then seem insane now.
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11th January 2013 at 4:46 pm
sangell says:
Woodrow Wilson High School cadets
1943 mock guns, the real ones were overseas
1895 black high school cadets. What rifles did they carry in a segregated city?
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/High-School-Cadet-Corps-1895-M-Street-Washington-D-C-/00/s/NTAwWDY0MA==/$%28KGrHqJHJFcFCjHn2uj5BQ0P+UiYS!~~60_3.JPG
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11th January 2013 at 7:11 pm
Stucky says:
“Learn more and order your copy of Totally Incorrect today.”
Order something?? Wow. I’m shocked, I tell you.
DCES
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11th January 2013 at 7:13 pm
AWD says:
Little Joe Biden talked with the NRA yesterday and video game makers today in his witch hunt. The NRA quickly released this response:
“Shortly after Thursday’s meeting, the NRA blasted Biden, saying the administration is not trying to produce legitimate ideas about how to curb gun violence and instead went after the Second Amendment.
“We were disappointed with how little this meeting had to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with an agenda to attack the Second Amendment,” the NRA said Thursday. “While claiming that no policy proposals would be ‘prejudged,’ this task force spent most of its time on proposed restrictions on lawful firearms owners – honest, taxpaying, hardworking Americans.”
“It is unfortunate that this Administration continues to insist on pushing failed solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems,” the NRA said. “We will not allow law-abiding gun owners to be blamed for the acts of criminals and madmen. Instead, we will now take our commitment and meaningful contributions to members of Congress of both parties who are interested in having an honest conversation about what works – and what does not.”
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11th January 2013 at 7:26 pm
Ron says:
I did catch an enjoyable moment watching some of martians attack.The part where they wipe out one of the houses of government with ray guns.
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11th January 2013 at 8:23 pm
AKAnon says:
A bill was just introduced in the Alaskan legislature to permit school employees (w/ CCW permits and training) to carry on school grounds. Sounds good to me.
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11th January 2013 at 3:04 am
Novista says:
I’m jaded at the ‘gun culture’ meme. We need a counter to use on progs, I suggest ‘wowser culture’. H.L.Mencken liked the word and it fits.
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11th January 2013 at 6:22 am
Jimi d says:
I have witnesses how some people in New Orleans acted like animals after the flood waters from hurricane Katrina receded, even during the event ands years later. Recently, because I was at home recovering from surgery I followed the news (main stream media & GOOGLE) day by day and hour by hour as “Sandy” pummeled New Jersey, New York and to a lesser degree Connecticut. Assaults and shootings at gas stations, thieves and chaos were the order of the day, and hey “lets hold an NYC marathon race” to help people forget their misery – what a fuck’n joke! Even here in Tunkhannock, PA. the local Wal-Mart was totally clean out of water, propane bottles, flash lights and batteries, (no shit) even though we hardly got any rain and only a few hours of high winds from “Sandy”.
That being said, I think that I am well enough informed to know that at some point in the near future there will be an economic collapse here in the USA that could make the Great Depression look like a Sunday walk in the park – anyone with some degree of common sense knows this – you can just “feel it’ coming. Contrary to what the Economic Research Bureau has told us about the recession having ended in the summer of 2009, we here at TBP know that the USA economy has been in the toilet for more than six years now. For those who doubt that we are in a ‘depression’ GOOGLE “Joliet Remembers” and read with your own eyes the happy horse shit that our leaders said about the economy in year one, two, three and beyond as the Great Depression tightened it’s strangle hold on the economy and more importantly – the citizens (or should I use the word ‘consumers’?).
I have never liked guns or felt comfortable around them. However, I am planning on buying a ‘tactical’ 12 gauge shot gun and either a 357 or 44 magnum and a .287 for personal protection because I am afraid of what the masses will do when the dollar collapses or a ‘bank holiday’ is declared, or the people that no longer are able to collect unemployment benefits go ape shit crazy when they hit rock bottom and can no longer feed their families. Anyone that forcibly comes through my door to get my food / water or attacks my person will get blasted!
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11th January 2013 at 2:50 pm
Muck About says:
Back in the day, we had a high school shooting team, 7 young men and 5 young women which varied year to year in numbers and sexes.
We brought the weapons to school, used the cafeteria after school to teach ammo loading so you could fine tune your ammo. Same for weapon care, cleaning and maintenance.
We had bunches of adult supervision, right? Wrong.. We had an adult advisor for the team (the football coach who was an ex-Marine) but he never showed up except at matches and training sessions on the range (some of them at least).
I had my first .22 at 11 years old – an old Marlin lever action my Dad had been given when he was a teenager. He taught me everything I ever needed to know about guns and shooting and proper care and feeding of weapons so you shot what you aimed at and not your hunting buddy.
Today, by 11 years old, a kid has slaughtered thousands of people, monsters, robots, beasties or what not without a thought that all killing may just not quite be a video game.
A kid that’s not firmly connected to the real world can easily be convinced in his mind that by shooting all these people/peers, he’s just carrying on the fun stuff and when he’s finished, they’ll all pop right back up and be fine. Then again, there are the dark ones (more and more of them) who never have had any right/wrong pounded into them and live their limited lives with no moral compass at all (I am not talking about religion either!) where instant gratification to perceived need is all that counts and if people die in the process, what’s wrong with that?
This isn’t my world any more. Single mothers are a sorry lot when it comes to grounding male children in the real world. All those kids need a Dad to guide and discipline them in the early years. Single Moms try like hell, some of the time, but without a male figure to mentor a boy, the boy is in deep shit as far as understanding and accepting his role in nature and society.
I wouldn’t even think about having kids in this world I do not understand and don’t much enjoy.
MA
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11th January 2013 at 5:02 pm
Hollow man says:
Me niether Muck About. Really do not enjoy it.
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11th January 2013 at 11:56 pm