The transition from the USSR to the republic of Russia was a catastrophic event for the people who lived through it. The eventual (imminent?) collapse of the US will be much much worse, warns Dmitry Orlov. The USA has a Collapse Gap. Orlov realizes
that some people will react rather badly to having their country compared to the USSR. I would like to assure you that the Soviet people would have reacted similarly, had the United States collapsed first. Feelings aside, here are two 20th century superpowers, who wanted more or less the same things – things like technological progress, economic growth, full employment, and world domination – but they disagreed about the methods. And they obtained similar results – each had a good run, intimidated the whole planet, and kept the other scared. Each eventually went bankrupt.
Valuable lessons on what to expect and how to prepare follow. Read it yourself, but the condensed advice is this: Live on the margins of society.
One encouraging sign that Americans are picking up the skills they will need to survive: haggling at the mall.
Assalam alaykum,
It’s good to finally see a Muslim blog talking about the possibility of collapse in America. How are things in Malaysia? Is there a concern about Malaysia being affected by the upcoming collapse in America?
wa alaykum salam,
My father has been making strategic decisions to weather the collapse of the US my whole life, actually. That link about living on the margins of society goes to my parents’ family farm. It was not an insignificant influence on my decision to emigrate to Malaysia either.
The economy is still strong in Malaysia, and to my eye, fundamentally sound. The country has a strong industrial and agricultural base and is a net exporter of petroleum. Malaysia leads the world in palm oil export, which, though not without its faults, may well be the single most efficient species on earth for food tonnage per hectare. That won’t go away in bad economic times. On the flip side, the US is Malaysia’s single largest trade partner. I’m sure, like other “asian tigers” Malaysia would be hurt by a US depression.
Salaam,
I’ve always been interested in living in Malaysia. Is it easy to get a job there? I’ve tried living in the UAE, but while it is easy to get a job there, they usually don’t pay very well. How is it in Malaysia?
JazakhAllahar and Salaam,
NMC
w/s
I imagine it depends a lot on what line of work you are in. If you can get hired by a company that will pay you dollars or dollar equivalent salaries to work in Malaysia, then you’ve got it made. The cost of living is lower here so your money goes farther. If, like me, you want to compete for local jobs and get paid at local pay scales, you are not going to come out ahead vs the US, assuming you’re American. I’m making a fraction of what I made back in the States in dollar terms; even adjusting for cost of living, my bottom line took a hit by moving. I sort of assumed the pay scales in UAE were excellent, though I know cost of living is killer. My wife and I are both in academia and we’ve flirted with job applications to UAE. I’m a bit surprised to hear you say they don’t pay well. It sure looked good to me.
Great links, bingregory. How did you find them? MeFi perhaps?
Yeah, that’s where I kife half my links, I won’t lie. The NYT story I happened across on my own though. For real.