[Mrs. Don-o]

Historically, our ancestors survived if they lived the natural virtues of productive work, reproductive success, and cooperation. The plain unromantic cultivation of diligence,frugality and sobriety --- together with close-knit ties with kin and tribe and neighbors --- plus not killing your kids: this led to surviving and thriving across generations.

The "conquer or die" thing is not the whole story, or even most of the story. To center on it seems a view unenlightened by grace. But it's a losing proposition: clutching your prepper foods or not. Shooting down the Mongol horde or not. Anything you do, you die.

Without grace, you generally get hell here as well as hereafter. It's not a good way to live, and as a way to die, a guaranteed total loss.

[miss marmelstein]

You know, I used to think about prepping. But when you look at Venezuela and communist countries, you realize the futility of that. They basically shoot preppers and steal the food. Commies are no fools; just evil.

[PapaBear3625]

Historically, our ancestors survived if they lived the natural virtues of productive work, reproductive success, and cooperation. The plain unromantic cultivation of diligence,frugality and sobriety --- together with close-knit ties with kin and tribe and neighbors --- plus not killing your kids: this led to surviving and thriving across generations.

Charity used to be coupled with penalties for bad behavior. This worked to cut down on the level of behaviors which wound up requiring charity. Chief among the behaviors which were penalized was the practice of having kids outside of marriage.

The modern welfare system acts to facilitate bad behavior, until the number of badly behaving people overwhelms the capacity of the system. For women, this meant that they found a man able and willing to support a family. Failing that, there was always the convents.