There are many other contrarian views, including y2k, terrorist threats, global weather trends, etc. The Lyonvest portfolio consists entirely of contrarian stocks. Ralston Purina - the price had been declining for months, commodities glut looked prolonged, and they own Eveready. Nord Resources - they mine copper, nickel and other metals used in making batteries. They also explore for gold.
Gold can be a nice supplement to cash in times of uncertainty.
It was purchased during a price decline. Brush Wellman - manufacture beryllium, which gives copper additional qualities. It was also purchased in a declining price mode. They have a division that deals with peat. In the event of food shortages caused by y2k or climatic events, high intensity gardening will likely increase dramatically.