Orlov: Closing the ‘Collapse Gap’
December 9th, 2006Dmitry Orlov’s, Closing the ‘Collapse Gap’: The USSR Was Better Prepared for Peak Oil than the US, is probably the finest meditation on what America is facing that I have ever read. Orlov stresses themes that are axiomatic on Cryptogon:
It’s not that bad, it’s worse.
Political activism is a joke and a waste of time.
On politicians: Don’t believe them. Don’t fear them. Don’t ask anything of them.
Orlov’s tone and sense of humor reminded me of an old professor of mine. I took a comparative politics class (early 1990s) that was taught by a Russian defector who had worked in Soviet Military Intelligence (GRU) during the 1970s and 1980s. He did not elaborate on how he reached the U.S. or what he did for the U.S. government when he got here…
His summary of the key difference between the U.S. and the Soviet Union:
“Here, you can buy shoes that don’t fall apart by the time you walk out of the store, even though they are made mostly by America’s child slave ‘comrades’ in China. I never run out of cigarettes here, which is very good. I own an automobile, Nissan 280Z! Zoom!” He made a swoosh motion with his hand.
His PhD was in International Relations from a top U.S. university. He spoke Russian, Arabic and English. Obviously, a very smart guy. Where were the references to the “free” and “open” political and economic systems in the West? I don’t remember the exact words, but it was very close to this:
“Sure, I’m free to pay lots of taxes and what do I get in return for these payments? [pause] I’m free to vote. [laughter] But we voted in the Soviet Union, too. American politicians smile more than Russian politicians, but they rip us off in a similar manner. America doesn’t have ‘ministries’ but rather quasi private corporations. Ahhh, ‘capitalism’ I think they’re calling it? Having worked with these corporations, I felt like I was back in the Soviet Union. [uncomfortable laughter] I’m free to talk about these things in America because it’s cheaper to let me do that than to lock me up. Gulags in the Soviet Union were full of dissidents. How many people are in prison in America… Something has gone very wrong with all the freedom here.”
These weren’t the words of someone who longed for his homeland. Far from it. Rather, they represented the sadness of a guy who wound up seeing more similarities between America and the Soviet Union, than differences. They represented the disappointment from seeing the same fascism dressed up with dazzling sideshows and more things to watch on television; “Mostly worthless to the viewer,” he added, “but a more effective propaganda product than the Soviet Union ever managed to produce.” I laughed. Some people looked frightened. Most students didn’t seem to care, one way or the other. If it had been a few years later, the point would have been accentuated by a cell phone chirp, or two.
Dmitry Orlov shows us that the situation is actually much worse.
He makes a convincing argument that the Soviet Union was far better prepared to handle collapse than the U.S. is, or ever could be. I found this interesting because that professor of mine, when asked to comment on the then recent collapse of the Soviet Union, chuckled, “Recent collapse? USSR had been in a state of collapse for twenty years before it was finally admitted at the highest levels. The mob is now overtly in control, whereas it just ran much of the economy before the breakup.” Like Orlov, my professor said that Russians had been improvising, and dealing with black market economies and criminals for decades. It was the only way to survive. When the formal system finally came down, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Via: Energy Bulletin:
My talk tonight is about the lack of collapse-preparedness here in the United States. I will compare it with the situation in the Soviet Union, prior to its collapse. The rhetorical device I am going to use is the “Collapse Gap” – to go along with the Nuclear Gap, and the Space Gap, and various other superpower gaps that were fashionable during the Cold War.
Note: At the end of the piece is a comment from someone at Energy Bulletin that says:
Orlov’s cynicism about the possibility of intelligent government action was probably justified in the case of the Soviet Union, but I think it would be a tragic mistake to abandon efforts to change the direction of the U.S. The Soviets had little chance to make democratic institutions work. We do have that chance.
I couldn’t disagree more with this comment. The tragic mistake would be to cling any longer to the same faith based and worthless programs of political activism that have delivered us to the brink of oblivion. I’ve said it repeatedly, and I’ll say it again: The more you keep grasping for glimmers of hope within the political system, the worse off you will be. Get into a situation that eliminates your reliance on luck and minimizes the impact of factors that are completely beyond your control. Do this immediately.
Research Credit: Ran Prieur
Agreed; it’s heartbreaking to see apparently intelligent people pinning their hopes on political activism, especially in the U.S.
One of the few good things about the current point in time is the relative ease with which one can accumulate books and tools with which to prepare for the coming crash: grain (currently ~$25 for 50LBS!); grain mill (~$350), solar ovens (~$250); bicycle powered electrical generator (~$400); medicine, water storage drums, seeds, shovels, etc. There are also cheaper options – olive oil lasts for ever, and can be used in lamps as well as for cooking.
It is sad to see progressives waste their time on the Democrats, as though that wretched outfit will make a blind bit of difference. One of the most depressing outcomes from the recent mid-terms was the comment that I heard from many: “Now that the Democrats have won the house and senate, maybe things will be better…”
Argh. At least a Republican “victory” would have pushed another tiny number into facing the grim reality; instead, the illusion of hope – an illusion which could be fatal for many.
For those so inclined, Aric McBay’s excellent site is back online, and with it his free booklet, “Tools for Gridcrash”:
http://www.inthewake.org/downloads.html
Don’t just download it, PRINT IT OUT. Keep hard-copies of vital information like this!
BTW, I’m currently settling in to a small town of ~20,000 in Canada (New Brunswick – one of the most lightly populated parts of the American N.E.). It’s a bit odd adjusting to the small town culture, having lived in L.A. for 12 years. Just today I learned that the power can go down for 3 days when the snow is bad. I was delighted – I get a dry run for Gridcrash!
This is a gem of an article, clearly written and organized; Mr. Orlov is quite the student of history. Many thanks Kevin and Ran. And an excellent reply to the wishful thinking in the editor’s endnote. Kudos.