What if the Global Economy Collapsed?
By: Violet Bee
Tags: Economy, Climate Change, Podcast, Preparation, Deep Adaptation

A crash is a certainty and for anyone able, preparation is urgent. The impending collapse of the economy and financial system will be catastrophic for the lives of billions. That might sound a bit alarmist, but the combined forces of climate change and the predicted fall in oil prices are driving us toward an economic catastrophe.

A smaller economy is coming, by disaster or design. — Kirk Hall

Fossil Fueled Economy

Our economy, and almost our entire way of life in the industrialized world, are entirely dependent on a steady supply of growth driven by fossil fuels. The predicted crash in the fuel market will send the economy into a tail-spin and leave the average consumer pushed beyond their breaking point.

Around the world there is early evidence of a seismic shift. Capital is moving away from fossil fuels, and regions that have let their economies become dependent on oil revenues are showing signs of authoritarian abuses of power. — Mitchell Anderson

The nation states dependent on oil export are theorized to be the epicenter of the implosion, but that doesn’t mean that the net importers of oil will fare any better.

We already seem to be on the road toward a new crisis; this crisis is likely to be much worse than the Great Recession of 2008–2009. This time, a major problem is likely to be energy prices that are too low for producers. Without enough energy consumption growth, top-level organizations, such as the European Union, the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, are especially at risk of collapse. — Gail Tverberg

Preparing for a Crash

The destruction of our way of life might sound far-fetched, especially for those of us who are lucky enough to be middle class or above, but we don’t have to look too far into the past to find lessons.

The Soviet Union’s demise in 1991 was at least partially, and arguably, predominantly, the result of low oil prices. As the Soviet Union was a net exporter in the world oil market, the loss of oil revenue was unrecoverable.

We’ve become extraordinarily over-confident if believe we’re beyond a repeat of that event. In the almost 30 years since that collapse, our economies have become irrevocably intertwined and have continuously consolidated into the hands of fewer and fewer players.

As the world wakes up to the destructive force of climate change and protesters and consumers push demand away from oil, we only accelerate the down-fall of our global economy. From the climate perspective, a collapse might be our best hope for long-term survival, but the hardships will be difficult to endure.

Life After Collapse

Most Americans already live in a state of semi-collapse, with 78% living paycheck to paycheck and 46% needing a second job or other side hustle just to make ends meet. It might be hard to imagine life getting worse. Stretched to the limit, many cannot even consider sparing the resources to work on emergency preparedness.

If you’ve come this far, though, you must be worried or interested. In many ways, knowledge is as good as preparation, at least in the beginning. It is enough to know and accept that the world cannot go on as it is, because it changes your entire outlook. Everything you do will be altered by it. Learning is a great place to start.

Start building resilience into your life today. Ensure that you, your family, and your community are as prepared and sustainably situated as possible so that you can enjoy a high quality of life regardless of how the future plays out. — Peak Prosperity

Foundational Knowledge

The Crash Course offers an overview of the economic forces at play that leave us vulnerable to a crash. The full course is rather long, at about 4.5 hours, but there’s a shortened version that clocks-in at an hour. For anyone who can’t spare the time, I’d recommend the final chapter, which is under 10 minutes.

Emergency Preparedness

The What Should I Do? Guide is an excellent resource that provides more detailed information on how to get started with emergency preparedness and developing resilience in yourself, household and community.

The Untaming Podcast featured Kirk Hall recently and I would recommend it to everyone. The host and Hall are both based out of Australia, but in many ways that is good. Climate change has come to bear there already. Hall has some sound advice for what to do in the case of an economic collapse, though it might seem extreme.

Permaculture & Gardening

The Permaculture Women’s Guild offers a 100% free (they do take donations) online course in the basics of permaculture with a year of weekly lessons. Not just a good resource because it’s one of the only ways to learn permaculture for free, it is a high quality course and I’ve been impressed with the content.

The Future is Rural

The Future is Rural is an excellent overview of the way farming has become dependent on fossil fuel inputs and what that means for the coming decades as the oil economy meets its inevitable end. The focus is on the ways we can prepare to replace the current farming practices in the hopes of feeding ourselves.