The relationship between these movements has been on my mind in the last few months, in particular, the strongest similarities that they have.
One first similarity is the fact that most survivalists/preppers have a high level of distrust in the government, just like libertarians. Often that doesn’t quite reach the level of institutional rejection, but it’s still worth something. What I mean by that is that some survivalists say they would resist government tyranny and oppression no matter how legal it is, but then they go on a full-on Back the Blue, Support the Troops rant. Those are exactly the people who would take your guns push come to shove. Think about the latest 4th of July parade, where many on the ‘MAGA’ right celebrated tanks rolling down the street on a holiday that is dedicated to rebellion against a powerful government with a standing army. Seems like some reflection is in order
Nevertheless, the rhetoric is still promising. A good comparison here would be with the rhetoric of Reagan and his Moral Majority conservatives, no to mention their intellectual heirs: the nice words are present, but the consistent practice is not. Another example of this is Ben Shapiro, one of the most prominent conservative commentators in the digital space: he regularly and consistently talks about how the 2nd amendment was enacted in order to enable resistance against government tyranny but here’s the kicker: in the same episode he talks about how cops and soldier deserve a great deal of trust and deference and how they are “just doing their jobs”.
Conservatives like this may not be able to see the inconsistency present but that does not change that fact that it’s there. I am isolating conservatives here because they have a lot of representation in the survivalist movement.
In any case, the consideration of survivalism as a movement, libertarianism as a movement and their connection has several other interesting implications.
The second attribute is this; although individual self-reliance is a vital characteristic to have, it is also crucial to be able to play well with others. After all, because of comparative advantage and economies of scale, one’s chances of survival are far higher in a group. This necessarily implies a level of leadership skills that are necessary in order to effectively run a survival group. Whether you wish to use real-life survival scenarios or post-apocalyptic fiction as your benchmark, this is undeniable. A recent fictional example that comes to mind is the Van Helsing show I have been watching in the past few weeks. While it is true that this is a supernatural show with vampires and what have you, there are some basic, fundamental truths about human nature and the nature of human needs that are so universal that any good piece of fiction can reflect these truths. This includes the value of teamwork. Of course, there are many other works of fiction which play into this dynamic, such as The 100, Jericho and others. In all of these shows, the survival of the group hinges on teamwork, as in real life.
A final basic truth which may seem self-evident but is important to consider is the necessity of self-defense. This requires not only the presence of adequate supplies and equipment(the easy part) but also the far more fundamental: tactics, skills and mindset(credit to tire iron’s corner blog). Mindset comes first of course. It is a kind of life philosophy on the one hand and character on the other. As far as a life philosophy is concerned I think Stoicism is a strong basis for living in a high stress, low certainty situations like extreme survival. Character is a trickier part of the equation, but certainly no less important. In fact, it is likely the most important thing you can rely on if push comes to shove.
Now, this is only the beginning of my exploration of this issue. But it wouldn’t be complete without sharing two resources I have found particularly instructive while pondering it:
- The Survival Podcast by Jack Spirko. He has published multiple episodes and mini-essays on how his libertarian and his survivalist philosophy weave together and has covered the topic of leadership as well. His six survival tenets, in particular, provide a web of interlocking premises that, in my opinion, work together quite well.
2. The gentlemen over at ZeroGov. They have a very different type of internet presence but have also been prominent in bringing the topic of this post to greater prominence, especially on Twitter. I look forward to exploring their perspectives further in the future.