Survivalism is no longer a joke

Throughout our lives, we tend to meet all kinds of people. Some encourage us that the future will always be better, and, on the contrary, others invite us to prepare for the worst with a hint of paranoia in their expression. And when we say ‘prepare,’ we do not mean it in a metaphorical sense or lightly, but instead, we are talking about incorporating a series of skills that will allow us to survive in the face of a catastrophe. We are talking about survivalists, a worldwide movement of people who try to be organized in advance to cope with any difficulty that may arise in our world, from nuclear wars and deadly viruses to alien invasions or natural disasters. On sites like eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) or Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), we can find numerous supply kits and books written in the handwriting of survivalists that provide us with advice in the face of every type of catastrophe.

For decades they were taken lightly or even ridiculed, but the passage of time and the current state of the world made us pay more attention to them and listen to what they had to say. Events such as the North Korean ballistic missile test, the Covid-19, and the current war between Russia and Ukraine showed us a sad reality, and that is that sometimes those agencies that are in charge of “taking care of us” do not know how to react to a sudden crisis, and therefore, they cannot convey a clear message to all those who trust them with our security in goodwill.

So it was that when the events mentioned above caused panic, fear, and uncertainty in the world’s population, we no longer saw paranoia when we looked at the survivalists’ faces, but rather a relaxed “I told you so” expression. They were already prepared for food and commodity shortages, and many of them even had a shelter in which they could survive quarantine for months without need.

With the price of oil (NYMEX: QMK22) and some foodstuffs soaring to record levels, and the growing demand for building bunkers in ordinary European homes, no one can dare to tell them they were wrong. Until a few years ago, building a bunker was limited to the wealthier classes. The growing demand has led construction companies to add more “economical” options made in just a few weeks.

The truth is that, without realizing it, we had managed to live a few decades of certain stability. Perhaps the exponential advances in technological, economic, and sociocultural matters made us live at an accelerated pace. We did not stop to think that we did not have major wars, an economic crise like that of 1929, or the emergence of new diseases worldwide a few years ago. The trade of commodities and manufactured goods had been organized in such a way as to meet the world’s demands promptly. Perhaps all those years of “order and calm” are now taking their toll and reminding us of our role as survivors, not masters, in the world.