by Josh Kimball
WHAT’S HAPPENING
- Has there ever been a better time to be a Doomster? Not in a few hundred years. From popular online forums like Life After the Oil Crash to the outsider buzz around Dmitry Orlov’s 2008 book Reinventing Collapse, times are good for those who think times are bad.
- America’s always had a slice of consumers with a strong independent streak. The current chaos of the banking system, though, along with long-standing climate concerns, has given fringe groups a greater share of voice in a conversation informed by Culture ShockSM.
- While many mainstream consumers are dealing with uncertainty by spending less and trying to save, some are seeking more extreme methods to assuage their fears — experimenting with off-the-grid energy strategies, raise-their-own food plans, and other ways to end-around The Man.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS
- There’s always been a strain of wannabe solo-going Americans, but current change, fear and concerns about freedom are driving some people to embrace extreme independence.
- From those who seek energy independence to save the Earth to people going off the banking grid for fear of widespread failure, many Americans are feeling a Culture ShockSM.
RESOURCES
- Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Example and American Prospects by Dmitry Orlov, New Society Publishers 2008
