This is one conversation out of the 19 that took place as part of the Long Conversation.
Long Conversation, an epic relay of one-to-one conversations among some of the Bay Area’s most interesting minds, took place over 6 hours in San Francisco on Saturday October 16, 02010.
http://longnow.org/seminars/02010/oct/16/long-conversation-19-19/
From http://www.longnow.org/projects/seminars/ It’s pretty great.
With vintage Russian black humor, Orlov described the social collapse he witnessed in Russia in the 1990s and spelled out its practical lessons for the American social collapse he sees as inevitable. The American economy in the 1990s described itself as “Goldilocks”—just the right size—when in fact is was “Tinkerbelle,” and one day the clapping stops. As in Russia, the US made itself vulnerable to the decline of crude oil, a trade deficit, military over-reach, and financial over-reach.
Russians were able to muddle through the collapse by finding ways to manage 1) food, 2) shelter, 3) transportation, and 4) security.
By way of readiness, Orlov urges all to prepare for life without a job, with near-zero burn rate. It takes practice to learn how to be poor well. Those who are already poor have an advantage.
http://blog.longnow.org/2009/02/16/dmitry-orlov-social-collapse-best-practices/
Transcript: http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2009/02/social-collapse-best-practices.html