I’ve been watching a lot of post-apocalyptic shows and movies lately, and reading dystopian literature. It seems there are more and more out there – The Walking Dead and its offspring Fear the Walking Dead, Contagion, The 100, Revolution, Hunger Games and others.
The one thing they all have in common is a breakdown in society and the complete destruction of government structures. You let it go a while, and tyranny ensues, but in the meantime, survival skills are critical.
So what happens? How do the survivors survive? In the absence of government to help them, the survivors have to turn to their own skills and ingenuity to survive in mini-societies that organically form in the aftermath of an apocalyptic event.
This is what gave me the idea for this poll. In the event that society completely deteriorates, what skills become critical? Obviously, one needs to be able to handle a weapon and to protect him or herself and those around them. But what else? What skills are important aside from being able to handle yourself around firearms?
There is likely an endless array of answers, but I had to limit myself to several, so hit “other” if you feel your best choice is not included, and tell us in the comments.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. Lots of skills are important, but which ones depend on far civilization collapsed, and how far along the rebuild is.
Oddly enough, my for-real hobbies extend beyond shooting, to include stuff like gardening, blacksmithing, leatherworking, construction, armoring, sewing, assorted edged weapons… heck, I make paper, ink, dyes, and I’m working on tanning. (“Oddly” because a lot of my real world training and experience is in computers and electronics. Heck, I can building a crystal radio from scratch. Or repair a SONET lightwave transmission system.)
As a physician, I’d have to add that hygiene (preventing disease) is far more important, long term, than all the superhypertactikewl crap people think they can do with a medics bag….
Well now, this time I “voted” other, with “all of the above.” But the thing that will be the most important overall is learning NOW to be a good neighbor, a productive part of a voluntary society. Good interpersonal relationships, built on non aggression and self government, will be the foundation. Each member of that voluntary association will have different talents and training, so the best survival skill will be the ability to get along and use them together peacefully.
Learn new skills, naturally. Nobody can know “too much” about the basic things, but nobody can learn or do it all either. That is the truth upon which trade has been built for all of recorded history, and probably much earlier.
Matthew Vanderboegh took over blogging for his father Mike, over at Sipsey Street Irregulars. One of his first posts is on defensive operations in urban areas. One key point emphasizes being a good neighbor and expanding your “area of influence” now, before any SHTF scenarios happen.
I agree with ML, if you can’t do it have someone in the tribe that can.
I keep this in mind with my recruiting too.
If you have everything- food, clean water, medical skills, sanitation, housing, power, guns, ammo, sanitation- you name it, but you don’t know what the threats are, you are going to either lose your stuff, lose your life, or both. Knowing the bikers from the next town are coming may allow a good defense, rather than responding to their attack. Knowing FEMA is coming with MRAP’s, up-armored humvees, and Bradleys may allow you to bug out and hide some resources. Trade and co-exist when you can, run or fight when you must, but making the choice takes intelligence gathering.
I voted “growing food” and “mechanical skills” (because that makes growing food easier/more efficient), but after reading the rest of the comments, it really does depend on how far society falls.
If I had to order them, I’d say:
– Ability to grow food
– Mechanical/basic skills (to include plumbing, wood/metal working, etc. – think “blue collar”)
– Communication and intelligence analysis (these two tend to go hand-in-hand)
– Higher-level skills (“white collar” skills, to include medical training and infrastructure design, not actual construction)
– Technological skills (not as useful without the underlying infrastructure already in place)
Just my $0.02.
“it really does depend on how far society falls.”
There’s no meaningful answer to the question, because it does just depend.
If the “shit that hits the fan” is just another October 2008 (but bigger), then all we’re dealing with is hard times. You’ll be unemployed, but it’s unlikely that you’ll have to contemplate either dying or living in a pile of hot brass.
If there’s a civil war of some type… well even that depends. Which civil war scenario? I see two being painted as “imminent” now depending on who I talk to (government against gun owners, government and gun owners against Muslims on Zero Day). You’ll need that hot brass generator for that scenario, as well as a few other things, but much of what we rely on will still be available.
Total civilizational collapse is an even bigger deal. You’ll need the hot brass maker, and lots of other stuff, nothing will be available.
The appropriate preparation depends on the question, the question…is something you have to decide. What’s your actual worry?