Counting on the status quo? Do you have a plan in case things collapse?

I believe we’re going to see some form of social, political and economic collapse in the next few decades. Most people reading this probably don’t believe that. But do you have a plan about what to do in case you’re wrong?

People predict doom all the time. No matter what world economic conditions are like, you can find someone who’s predicting the end of the world and the collapse of life as we know it. Most of them turn out to be wrong. Every now and then, though, they’re right — as was the case at the start of the Great Depression. And every time things collapse, most people are caught unprepared.

If you want to read the case that things are going to collapse, there are plenty of articles, so I’m not going to try to scare you by linking to a million of them. (Here’s one that I was reading earlier today that made me starting thinking about the subject, though.) I’m not trying to convince you that I’m right. I’m just asking if you’re prepared in case the worst happens.

Even though most people have vague feelings of worry about the economy (in the United States and in various parts of the rest of the world), most people are still acting as though things aren’t going to change much. People are still buying houses and going into debt and spending money for consumer goods. They’re still making plans for retirement and kids’ college education and all sorts of other things — all based on the unspoken assumption that the economic and political world as we know it will continue.

But what if that assumption is wrong? Do you have a plan for what to do then?

For a number of years, I’ve been thinking that bad times were coming. Compared to the kind of bad times I’m thinking of, the economic slowdown of the past few years has been a mere hiccough. (I think what we’re facing in the future is going to be a restructuring that will make the Depression look like a picnic as well.) For a long time, I’ve considered where to go and what to do, but it’s only been in the last year or so that I’ve started to do more than idly speculate. I don’t want to get caught up in what I expect to happen. I want an exit strategy.

I think there are two reasons why people don’t plan for a collapse. First, they’re not convinced it’s coming. Second, they’re not convinced there’s anything realistic they can do about it. I’ve been convinced for years on the first point. It’s the second I’m working on now, which is why I’m looking to meet more and more people who are also planning for the changes coming in the future. The more people I talk with, the more I realize that lots of people want an exit plan. They just don’t know where to look.

Where am I going to go and what am I going to do? I don’t know yet. I’ve considered several places that might be safer, but I’ve generally come to the conclusion that the safest thing is going to be is to have a place where other people are looking for escape, too. It might be an island in the Caribbean or the South Pacific. It might be a free city in Honduras. It might be a floating platform in an ocean. It might be something else. I don’t know.

The only thing I’m sure about is that I’m actively engaged in finding an escape plan — and I’m actively looking for others who want such a plan for themselves and their families. If you’re one of those people, I want to get to know you. We might need each other soon.