Forbes Says Self-Reliant Homesteaders Are “Delusional” and “Mooching” Off “Civil Society”

Organic Prepper, the ^ | 31 July 2017

[Lorianne]

It’s always interesting reading when someone smug and sanctimonious writes a clueless diatribe about another group of people being smug and sanctimonious. So when I saw that an economist for Moody’s and Forbes had written an op-ed calling self-reliant homesteaders “delusional,” I knew I’d be in for some misinformed hilarity.

The article, entitled, “Dear Homesteaders, Self-Reliance Is a Delusion” was published a couple of days ago on the Forbes website. You’ll be forewarned that the article won’t be deep in the first paragraph, when the author presents his claim to knowledge about self-reliant living comes from the fact that he is “a big fan of shows about doomsday preppers, homesteaders, survivalists, generally people who live off the grid.”

And the well-informed opinion of this arbiter of self-reliance?

…there’s a central delusion in these shows that is never far from my mind when I’m watching these shows: off the grid people are not self-reliant, but instead are mooching off of the civil society, government, and safety net the rest of us contribute to…

The people in these shows often describe a very romantic vision of the lives they have chosen the ethos underlying it. They describe themselves as fully self-reliant, and criticize the rest of society as being dependent and lacking in this self-reliance. It is morally superior, the story goes, to provide for yourself, take care of your own needs, and often, be prepared to survive if society collapses.

[Albion Wilde]

bump

[gattaca]

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[Freedom56v2]

The author, Adam Ozimek, did some in-depth research on the sybject:

Sitting in front of a TV watching staged “reality” shows.

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Seems that is about all he did...The Organic Prepper really knocked down his arguments later in the article...Just because they are not consumers does not mean they are not producers! And they pay taxes too—property, sales, etc.

Seems like a radical who does not want anyone being able to be an independent thinking, self reliant citizen.

[Secret Agent Man]

Yeah, no one can do everything. Even before this there were trading posts.

But this guy is just upset people are learning how to be MORE self sufficient. And grow their knowledge base. They are not doing it leeching off society. Its just projection on his part.

[metmom]

It is morally superior, the story goes, to provide for yourself, take care of your own needs, and often, be prepared to survive if society collapses.

As opposed to having someone else provide for you, demand that someone else take care of meeting my needs, and being ready to die if society collapses?

[metmom]

All he did was relearn what our ancestors knew and we’ve lost in the last few generations.

You did not prove your point that the idea that someone can be completely independent is completely delusional.

[JockoManning]

Jealous or clueless? I think the evidence is he’s clueless. Maybe he’s both.

[Daffynition]

Yes, Dick Proenneke.

http://aloneinthewilderness.com/living_in_alaska.html

[Daffynition]

"Alone in the Wilderness". Good stuff.

Selfies before there were selfies. :)

[j. earl carter]

Many aspects of being self reliant are simple risk management

There is another important reason:

It is fun and satisfying to do for yourself rather than relying on others.

I love deer season for just this reason. My kids and I go out, kill deer, gut them, drag them home, butcher them, cook them, and eat them. Nobody helped in any way. It was all done by god and me. That is a very satisfying thing.

[ArtDodger]

Socialists hate preppers. During WWII, when found, the Nazis would shoot them, calling them hoarders. All must suffer equally!

[greatvikingone]

An even worse argument than that is that this fellow isn’t living independently because he read books on survival written by other people. I don’t even understand this type of thinking.
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Thank you for being the voice of reason - for a moment I thought I was on DU instead of FR...

[SkyPilot]

Fixed it:

Forbes Says Self-Reliant Homesteaders Fake Prosperity Stock Market Bubble Casino Players Are “Delusional” and “Mooching” Off “Civil Society”

[SkyPilot]

I love that documentary.

[Fresh Wind]

It takes a village...

...to keep the peasants in line.

[kearnyirish2]

Socialists loathe the idea of people who don’t “need” government (them).

[Daffynition]

[WKUHilltopper]

Subservient cucks at Forbes. Wait until they cut you off from your livelihood, serf.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

I think the good Doctor got his degree in Hubris.

[RipSawyer]

I did some research on self reliance beginning at about age three or so when I was big enough to carry a single piece of split firewood to the wood box. That was the beginning of fifteen years of advanced education in walking behind a plow, using a hoe, a shovel, an ax, pulling one end of a five and a half foot long two man crosscut saw, picking cotton, digging postholes, hanging fence, milking cows, feeding chickens, pigs, cows, mules etc. I probably am withing striking distance of qualifying for an undergraduate degree in living like my ancestors. I am still nowhere close to the level of master reached by my parents even though I have studied a lot since leaving the farm for the Navy and still manage to study on my own campus for several hours every week. I won’t live long enough to approach the level of Doctor of roughing it, a level which nearly everyone reached back in the days of my great grandfather who was born one hundred years before me and wore the grey. He lived to be seventy nine years old even after surviving the worst war in American history and reconstruction.
The following selection is offered in hopes of illustrating how life used to be in this great land when sanity still prevailed, I sincerely hope you enjoy ithttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdaeQLCTa6g