Prepping

I’ve read several articles in the past year on the prepper movement. This includes everything from the well-stocked basement to the massive underground vaults with concierge services, chefs, and security forces. To me, they all seem like something out of dystopian Science Fiction of the 1950s. In both cases, they forget having a bunkhouse or an underground palace won’t necessarily protect you from all the dystopian bugaboos you’ve imagined.

Now, it’s true that if you have enough ammo for your semi-auto weapons, you might dissuade your neighbors or the local punk gang from dropping in for dinner. And in the case of the elite bunker, your security force might stop a well-armed militia out to assume ownership. But there are several buts.

It’s an inconvenient word, but. So, let’s start with the basics: No man is an island. This is not some cheap attempt to horn in on John Dunne’s territory. Survivalist Ranch may have sheep, goats, chickens, and a garden. But you had better have someone around who really knows farming if you’re going to make a go of it for more than a season. Domestic animals need veterinary care, medications, and inoculations. Crops need attention.

Some random selection of people putting their money into the pot for a bunkroom or apartment at Survivalist Ranch might be able to do first aid, but let’s face it, the first time you try to diagnose or treat anything complex, you will be in intense shit without medical professionals, equipment and medications. Do you know how to suture? Set a bone? Treat a severe infection? Once again, what about inoculations and medicine? Laying on one’s hands may not help in the case of pneumonia.

Another inconvenience is that Survivalist Ranch is open by subscription. It’s a pay-to-play situation. So much money gets you in the door, a bit more gets you a bunk in the dormitory, and more gets you the penthouse. This is great for a few weeks. Hell, it’s like going to Scout camp. You sit around the fire sing Kumbaya, and shoot all the poor locals who try to get in—target practice.

This plan ignores a few basics:

1.) In a sufficiently disastrous scenario, a market or cash-based economy is going south fast. You will not be able to purchase outside services except through barter. Your security personnel might want to be paid. You should put the target practice on hold. You may need the goodwill of the local population in nearby communities.

2.) Community. People live in communities that may be very diffuse or very close-knit. But your amorphous bunch of people at Survivalist Ranch will begin to sort themselves out after the honeymoon period. some may be followers and some leaders, but your best leaders might not be from the penthouse, and your initial selection of leaders might not be savvy about how to get along in a small society where everyone is armed and potentially dangerous.

Advice? 

1.) Pay attention to how people in natural small communities organize for communal action. Instead of just offering ammo, food, and a bed, people should be put to work planning for the Community’s future. In other words, think about the governance of Survivalist Ranch.

2.) You can only provide for some of your long-term needs. Now, don’t get upset, but the nearest dentist is maybe twenty miles away. YOU NEED HER GOOD WILL!

3.) Forget about target practice and try to work out ways to barter with communities in surrounding areas for skills and materials. Remember, they have guns, too, and in the long run, you’ll need more than what you stocked for a year if they truly hit the fan. 

4.) Stock a wide variety of goods that can be used for trade and barter. Why? See 2 and 3 above.

Well, good luck with Survivalist Ranch. It’s lovely that you are leaving. Those of us left will need people who can cooperate with others on issues, and you’ve pretty much shown that that’s not your model of society. In the long run, I suspect some of you may try to sneak back into society. Remember that the perimeter is live, and we, too, believe in target practice.