[seldom_seen]

Men are born soft and supple; dead, they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life. The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail.

~Lao Tzu

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.

~Charles Darwin

If you fall in to a swift river. You might panic and thrash about reaching for a branch or rock until your energy is spent and you succumb to the elements. You might try to stand up only to be swept off your feet hitting your head on a rock.

Or, you can point your feet downstream, tuck your knees towards your chest and go with the flow...join the river until you are deposited in a calm section where you can swim safely to shore.

I think the same goes for peak oil. Those who are able to go with the flow, to adapt, to adjust have a better chance of being deposited safely on the far side of the storm that is brewing.

Knowledge of what is happening is no guarantee of safety in the midst of chaos. One may be struck down by random cogs or flywheels as the machine breaks apart. People that are preparing though have already begun to adapt. They are paying off debt, starting gardens, storing food and water, decoupling from the grid, disentangling themselves from consumer culture.

Those unwilling to yield to the current will suffer the most. Governments, institutions and individuals that are rigidly set in their ways don't stand a chance.

That said, I have a lot sh*t to attend to. I need to get adapting. cya.

[medicvet]

You have a very good point. It isn't necessarily the richest or the best prepared who will survive, but those who have lived through enough life experiences that have taught them how to adapt..

[evilgenius]

Like I think the super-rich are ultimately doomed. They will be replaced by another class. The future is open as to what that class will be, either feudal or something the world hasn't yet seen.

[EnergyUnlimited]

Rich may not be willingful to adapt at the beginning, but once they realised that inevitable is on horizon they will "throw money on adaptation projects".
So majority of them will adapt and surive more likely then poor.

Rich are not necessarily doing well during revolutions (albeit many of them are becoming opportunistic leaders of such revolutions, corrupting process by the same...).
In any case PO collapse will most unlikely deliver successful revolutions.
There is huge disparity of access to weapons between rulers and ruled these days, unprecedented in fact.
So ruling class is safe.

[MacG]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('seldom_seen', 'O')r, you can point your feet downstream, tuck your knees towards your chest and go with the flow...join the river until you are deposited in a calm section where you can swim safely to shore.

[evilgenius]

Yes, if you find yourself swept under in a river you should ball up and reduce your imprint.

Funny, with consolidation the rich are working toward a world where everybody has a reduced imprint, and they are still a percentage of it. That only holds through the first few iterations, though. It could be for them how merchantilism gave way to capitalism. The merchant class did not necessarily become the capitalists. Many were relegated.

[Roy]

Just wanted to say: great post Seldom!

Thought provoking and quite true IMHO.

[TheTurtle]

An excellent post, indeed, seldom_seen. I have long suggested that developing mental flexibility is the most important PO prep one can make.

And as a Daoist wanna-be, I appreciate that you started your post with a Laozi quote.

[Zardoz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('seldom_seen', 'T')hat said, I have a lot sh*t to attend to. I need to get adapting. cya.

[OilIsMastery]

I would just like to join the "Excellent Post" chorus and announce my membership in the Seldom Seen fan club.

[seldom_seen]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Zardoz', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('seldom_seen', 'T')hat said, I have a lot sh*t to attend to. I need to get adapting. cya.

[Twilight]

I couldn't agree more, fighting a strong current is counter-productive, tread water and wait until you're dumped at the next bend.

It still helps to be strong though; if your circulation is not up to the job, the cold will get you.

Balance the two though, and you're in the fight.

[seldom_seen]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TheTurtle', 'I') have long suggested that developing mental flexibility is the most important PO prep one can make.

[Battle_Scarred_Galactico]

You put water in the cup it becomes the cup.

You put water in the teapot it becomes the teapot.

Be like water my friend.

- Bruce Lee