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Page added on February 3, 2015
Orlov: No escape
Quite a few of those currently inhabiting the belly of the decrepit and senile beast of western industrial civilization are experiencing an extreme sense of unease about what the future is likely to bring. But living with such a sensation is less than pleasant. In some other, perhaps less civilized language, the resolution to this crisis may be expressed as a special way of being, but in the language of civilization, the only possible work-out is through taking action. We must DO SOMETHING!
After all, who would want to not care about things that aren’t important at the moment, not think about objects that are not immediately and tangibly present, not treat depictions or representations as real or valid—but rely exclusively on their own perceptions, and perhaps those they share with those few people who are close to them? A decidedly uncivilized person, by most people’s standards. But we must remain civilized, and to be civilized means to always be driving towards some destination, even if it is an imaginary one. “Stop the world, I want to get off!” some of them exclaim in exasperation. But they are willing prisoners of this metaphor of the world as purposeful action, and their talk of escape is a mental loop (an escapist one) within another mental loop (from which there is no escape).
And so they must DO SOMETHING. But it turns out that they can’t because of another mandatory element of civilized existence, which is to have and to own… stuff. Now, owning something is not exactly an action; it is a state of being, but a rather impersonal one: person X owning a thing is exactly the same as person Y owning that exact same thing. Nevertheless, civilized persons are very much defined by the things that they own, the brands they favor, and the physical setting they demand. So they must do something about their civilized existence, but that civilized existence demands a house with electricity, running hot and cold water, heating and air conditioning, a car, a pile of electronic toys and an even bigger pile of stuff they never actually use, but simply have.
What prompted me to think about this? First-hand observation, actually. I just started a house-sit at an off-grid house on one of the lagoons in the Bocas archipelago in northern Panama. The house is rather well set up: lots of solar panels and battery banks, internet access via a network of wifi repeaters, a rainwater collection system, a dock with two power boats (the nearest town is 30 minutes away at full throttle), a big orchard out back that produces bananas, plantains, mangoes, a cat and a dog… It’s quite an establishment, and it has to be lived in and attended to at all times, to keep entropy at bay. This house is by no means unique: it is part of a constellation of similar houses which dot the surrounding shores, whose residents are quite gregarious, with powerboats crisscrossing the lagoon as they go visiting. It is all quite civilized. Some people here have a survivalist mindset, and feel that, being ensconced in their outposts in the mangroves, they are well situated to ride out the process of the whole world going to hell in a hand-basket.
And then right next door live the local Indios. Two Indio kids show up almost every day, a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old, paddling an ancient-looking cayuca carved out of a tree trunk. They hang out next to our dock, which attracts fish, which they catch for their family meal, one fish right after another, using hand lines with unbaited hooks, while their parents are off tending a patch of something or other edible out in the jungle. (The concept of child care is somehow completely missing.) Some older kids show up sporadically, who are of dating age, and since dating now requires having a cell phone, which needs to be charged, they bring us their cell phones, with chargers, in plastic bags so that they don’t get wet while they paddle over, and ask us to charge them.
These Indios inhabit a wild, roadless terrain, half-water, half-jungle (the nearest road is a two-hour hike over a mountain pass), do not avail themselves of any government services, don’t have bank accounts and trade a little or work as day-laborers for the few things they need. They are the happiest, most congenial, most carefree people it has ever been my privilege to encounter. They wear threadbare hand-me-downs (shorts and a t-shirt is almost too much clothing in this climate) and live in little shacks on pilings nailed together out of sticks that they probably salvaged as driftwood. They get around on foot or in cayucas which they carve out of trees. Their goal-directed activities seem limited to finding food and tending their few and humble possessions. They take long mid-day naps in their hamacas and paddle out to the middle of the lagoon in the cool evenings to socialize, where I can hear their laughter until well after sundown.
But we can’t be like them, now, can we? We need all this stuff: solar panels, banks of lead-acid batteries (I need to check the electrolyte levels today), propane appliances for hot water and cooking, demand pump for the water system, wifi repeaters for the internet… Whenever it is left unguarded, the whole compound needs to be locked down tight because otherwise it might get looted (there is a machete under the bed). The stable of speed boats, which are the only way to get in or out, has to be maintained. And to keep it all together somebody somewhere has to fly jet aircraft, perform rhinoplasties, tweak high-frequency trading algorithms or do something or other purposeful and goal-directed, because these things don’t pay for themselves, you know.
I suppose I could do something purposeful and goal-directed like that too, because I did, once upon a time. But I don’t, because, first of all, I don’t want to. Secondly, I have my own purposes, goals and methods. Spending winters in the tropics rent-free is, I believe, a worthy goal. Building an absolutely amazing houseboat that sails is another, and I am ready to put up with having to engage in other, unrelated, purposeful, goal-directed activities in order to raise the money. (Rhinoplasty, anyone?) There are a few more. But I refuse to rush, because that would spoil all the fun. And so I’ll do a bit of blogging, and later on today I’ll go visit a nearby organic cocoa farm. And I have no idea what I’ll be doing tomorrow, and that, I believe, is just fine.
12 Comments on "Orlov: No escape"
Northwest Resident on Tue, 3rd Feb 2015 8:45 pm
That lazy life is all just fine until a more advanced civilization invades and turns the locals into slaves. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Se la vi.
Dredd on Tue, 3rd Feb 2015 9:34 pm
Fantasy Island.
Makati1 on Tue, 3rd Feb 2015 9:46 pm
NWR, what if there are no ‘advanced’ civilizations left with the ability to ruin their life? I see that as a distinct possibility in the near future. After all, a 30+ minute boat ride means at least 20 miles of jungle or river to navigate, without power boats, before you get to that village. And who would go there if there was nothing of value to pillage?
No, the “civilized” relatively wealthy areas/countries will be the ones to experience painful and deadly plundering by the unskilled, yet armed, hordes. When the dust settles, most of the survivors will likely be living an “equal” lifestyle, something like that described by Orlov.
For instance, our farm is about 80 miles from Manila. It would take a healthy, young man a week, or more, to walk there. (Over a mountain chain.) What for? He would know that the people he would encounter would have no more than he does so unless he had family in the area, he would not even go. And our neighbors know that we would share anything we have that they need, so they would not be a problem either. As I said in another post, the monkeys are our biggest problem, and they don’t carry guns. ^_^
Davy on Wed, 4th Feb 2015 1:38 am
Damn, Dimitry, the sun and the space is doing you good. You sound better than you have for a long time. Maybe a good place to stay to recharge the batteries and get your sanity back. I would enjoy more of these articles.
WelshFarmer on Wed, 4th Feb 2015 3:34 am
Its really heartening to learn that there still exist unspoilt backwaters like that, where you can live the good life in relative obscurity.
This article is a pleasant surprise.
Beery on Wed, 4th Feb 2015 7:11 am
Orlov is just one more rich twat with heaps of cash and a loony “noble peasant” ideal, pretending to live off the grid by spending his wealth buying houseboats and quaint shacks in the country and communing with “the real people” like Marie Antoinette playing at being a peasant at her “Hameau”.
Makati1 on Wed, 4th Feb 2015 7:28 am
Beery, envious? The house he was watching was not his. That he has rich friends doesn’t make him bad, or rich. I have two good friends that are millionaires, and I have stayed in their multimillion dollar homes when they were away. I certainly am not rich. Not even close. And, yes such places do exist, even here in the Ps to some extent. Many people live happy, healthy, love filled lives without “stuff”.
Who has the better life? An American that works 50+ hours per week, owes most of his earnings to the government or a bank, and hopes to retire someday, and live a few years in bad health?
Or, someone who can work a few hours per day to have the necessities, have a loving family, no stress, no banker chains, no taxes and maybe lives a few years less than the American but lives them well and enjoys every minute of it?
Most Americans have no idea what freedom really is. They have never experienced it, and probably never will. They get a credit card at age 18 and start paying taxes. Death finds them still in debt and still paying taxes. Never free.
R1verat on Wed, 4th Feb 2015 8:12 am
Mak I am so glad you live in Nirvana. You probably are a reasonable intelligent person & are there because this area is right FOR YOU. I wish you would consider that others have areas that are right for them that may be equally appropriate. Personally I can see pros & cons of many areas & what works for one person may not work for another.
Too bad your anti-US diatribes negate any meaningful discussions. I would welcome some discussions where we could just set aside any bashing of any country & stayed focused on meaningful dialog.
Revi on Wed, 4th Feb 2015 10:50 am
I lived in Central America for about 2 and a half years. It might seem like a mellow place, but I saw homesteads like the one he is talking about looted, and the people who were living there murdered.
There’s a reason why there are not many white people there. It’s called tropical disease. Check out what happened to the Scottish colony in the Darien:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darien_scheme
Makati1 on Wed, 4th Feb 2015 7:25 pm
Revi, Violent crime? You might want to take a look at this chart:
http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Crime/Violent-crime/Intentional-homicide-rate
Central America is near the top of the list. So there are 14,000+ murders annually in the Us. There are also about 36,000 car deaths. I’m more afraid of being killed by a car than any ‘burglar’ And being killed by a real terrorist is so minute that I don’t even think about it. Something like 1 in 3,000,000.
However, those stats will change when the SHTF and I am betting that it will be safer here, where I have nothing to steal, that I would not share if asked.
You like where you are. I like where I am. Someday, we will see who made the best choice. Good Luck!
Makati1 on Wed, 4th Feb 2015 7:36 pm
R1verat, I am only posting the world as I see it, not as it is portrayed by brainwashed American zombies. Everything that is happening today is tied up in the way the Empire is trying to rule the world. I am ignoring anyone who is a rabid flag waver who likes to put down any place in the world they do not live and anyone they do not agree with.
There can be no ‘meaningful dialog’ without including the Us in it. It has it’s tentacles in everything of importance in today’s world, from the food we eat to the chance of being vaporized in a nuclear blast. How do you avoid the tyrannosaurus rex standing across the room? Name ONE topic that does NOT involve the Empire somewhere and we can talk about that one.
R1verat on Thu, 5th Feb 2015 8:56 am
Mak agree with you there.
where one stands on an issue usually is based on where they sit.
I am not proud of US policies or the gov’t’s BAU. I have thought about relocating elsewhere. But have grandkids & kids in the states.
I also realize that many gov’ts have joined the US “mindset bandwagon” of sacrificing all for the $$. Reasons vary, but human nature (especially for politicians) doesn’t seem to differ much, no matter the country.