Deliberate AgrarianSnippet #24ReluctantPreppers

Dateline: 10 May 2014

I've mentioned here in the past that I don't identify myself with the current "prepper" movement. It's not that I'm opposed to people being prepared for disasters. That's just being smart, especially in a modern, industrialized world with so much complexity and interdependency. Disasters in the form of economic, social and/or technological failure (a.k.a., collapse) are going to happen. It's only a matter of time. So I think being prepared is just good sense.

The difference between me and many in the prepper movement is that even if our civilization wasn't in danger of collapse, I would still be endeavoring to live a simple, self-reliant, contra-industrial way of life. I would still be doing this because I believe it is not only a more authentic way of life, but a biblically correct way of life. As I explain in My Book, I believe that God intended for His people to live an agrarian way of life. I'm persuaded that agrarian life best supports the development of stronger, more faithful families. I think God created families to live close to the land and in dependence on Him more than on an industrialized system that strives to supplant Him. 

Furthermore, I believe Christianity lived within the agrarian paradigm, is the ideal incubator of Christian character. Faith, hope, patience, endurance, selflessness, responsibility, and so many  more wholesome character traits come more naturally to those who grow up within agrarian families and communities. True masculinity and noble womanhood are also the natural products of an agrarian culture. 

So I think there is a fundamental ideological disconnect between me and your average modern prepper. However, I realize that the eventual collapse of industrialism has caused many modern Christians to see more clearly the manifold shortcomings of the industrialized way of life, and to then rediscover Christian agrarianism. And that's a good thing.

All of which is a long-winded way of introducing The Reluctant Prepper on YouTube. I was contacted by Dunagun Kaiser about doing an interview (which I declined, thank you). His e-mail led me to check out his YouTube interviews. Dunagun is doing a good job at getting a variety of people's experiences and viewpoints, and encouraging them to be better prepared for what will be coming our way.

Also…. Dunagun's 18-year-old son, Elijah, has an extensive series of interviews at Finance and Liberty on YouTube. Elijah is landing interviews with a lot of big names in the world of "alternative" financial discussion. This Interview with Jim Willie is one example of economic perspective that you surely won't get from the mainstream media. 

I don't endorse any of the economists I've listened to, but I really do enjoy hearing what they have to say, and considering the possibilities they present.