Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Experience and American Prospects-Revised & Updated

by Dmitry Orlov

Overview

A guide to the decline of the American empire for individuals, families and communities

The United States is in steep decline. Plagued by runaway debt, a shrinking economy, and environmental catastrophes to rival Chernobyl, the United States has been retracing the trajectory of the Soviet Union in the early 1980s toward national bankruptcy and political dissolution. By comparing a collapse that has run its course to one that is now unfolding, Dmitry Orlov holds a unique lens up to America's present and future.

As Orlov's predictions continue to come true, his writing continues to gain mainstream acceptance. This revised and updated edition of Reinventing Collapse examines the circumstances of the demise of the Soviet superpower and offers clear insights into how we might prepare for the events that are unfolding here.

Orlov gives no quarter to prophets of doom and gloom, finding plenty of room for optimism, if only we focus our efforts on personal and cultural transformation instead of trying to perpetuate an impossible status quo. This challenging yet inspiring and surprisingly upbeat work is a must-read for anyone concerned about peak oil, the environment, geopolitics, international relations, and life in a resource-constrained world.

Dmitry Orlov is an American engineer who was an eyewitness to the Soviet collapse and has written extensively on the subject of the impending collapse of the United States.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780865716858
Publisher:	New Society Publishers
Publication date:	06/01/2011
Edition description:	Revised and Updated
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	521,107
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Dmitry Orlov was born and raised in Leningrad, USSR and immigrated to the United States in the mid-seventies. He was an eyewitness to the Soviet collapse over several extended visits to his Russian homeland between the late eighties and mid-nineties. Dmitry is an engineer who has contributed to fields as diverse as high-energy Physics and Internet security. Starting in 2005, he has written extensively on the subject of the approaching collapse of the United States, and the many similarities and differences between the post-American and the post-Soviet experience. Dmitry sees his mission as a public service: in his numerous articles, presentations and interviews he has argued that collapse of the US, although inevitable, is survivable, given the right attitude and some timely preparation.

Table of Contents

Preface to Second Edition ix

Introduction 1

1 The Soviet Example 5

The Collapse of the Soviet Union: An Overview 11

Back in the USSR 12

A Rude Awakening 14

The New Normal 16

My Premise 18

2 Superpower Similarities 21

The Myth of Inclusiveness 24

Better Living Through Science 27

Industrial Food Production 28

Consumer Goods 30

Information Technology 31

The Cost of Technological Progress 35

Militarism 38

World's Jailers 45

Evil Empires 50

Bankruptcy 52

Collapse of Legitimacy 55

Reinventing Collapse

3 The Collapse Gap 63

Collapses in General 64

Energy 68

Housing 75

Transportation 79

Employment 82

Families 87

Money 91

Consumerism 94

Food 98

Medicine 105

Education 109

Ethnicity 114

Religion 115

Inevitable Conclusion 117

4 Collapse Mitigation 119

The Collapse Parry Platform 122

Political Solutions 126

Private Sector Solutions 128

Activism and Apathy 130

Boondoggles to the Rescue! 131

Investment Advice 134

The Future is Rated "B" 135

Starve the Beast 139

5 Adaptation 141

Loss of "Normalcy" 142

Smelling the Roses 144

Comforts and Necessities 146

Surviving Radical Cashectomy 148

The Revised Playbook 149

Lowering Your Standards 150

Playing the Part 153

The Settled and the Nomadic 154

6 Career Opportunities 159

Asset Stripping 160

Drugs and Alcohol 162

Providing Security 163

Serving Your Country 165

Alternative Medicine 166

Alternative Transportation 167

Social Work in the Home 169

That's No Way to Run a Business! 173

The Permanently Unemployed Consumer 179

How (not to) Organize a Community 179

Conclusion 185

Index 187

About the Author 195

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Orlov has a brilliant mind. This is a lucid thought experiment of what could happen to the United States in the event of collapse, whether caused by dependence on oil, debt, other deficits, or, simply, the complexity and fragility of the system. A must-read for all those who study fragility and risk management."
— Nassim N. Taleb, Distinguished Professor of Risk Engineering, NYU-Poly, author The Black Swan

"Dmitry Orlov brings a penetrating intelligence to a subject few dare to face squarely: the impending tragic implosion of the American Dream. He writes with assurance, clarity and wit from a singular point-of-view – someone who has witnessed the prior Soviet crack-up. This book is indispensable for anyone who seeks to understand the economic storm that is about to make landfall on our shores."
— James Howard Kunstler, author The Long Emergency

"Dmitry Orlov is a genius. Reinventing Collapse in its original version has more than stood the test of time and events as a prophetic vision of the challenges that are being so clearly defined for us as a civilization today. The new and revised edition is priceless because it incorporates current events and emerging trends and views them through the eyes of this terrific writer and thinker. And Orlov's sense of humor always plants a minefield full of laugh bombs in the right places. Nobody sees it like Orlov and nobody says it like Orlov."
— Michael C. Ruppert, author Crossing the Rubicon

"Be prepared to have your window shoved open and feel the fresh air shake you up. But don't worry, reading Dmitry Orlov usually just means gaining special insights with a strange, humorous twist. Dmitry is unique, contributing mightily to the vital but suppressed discussion of collapse and rebirth."
— Jan Lundberg, Culture Change

"Unlike many commentators, Orlov has seen collapse first hand, in the Former Soviet Union — there aren't too many books about the impending collapse of civilization that make you laugh out loud, but Reinventing Collapse is one of them."
— Bart Anderson, energybulletin.net

"Heretical, hysterically funny, always on point, deeply perceptive – Dmitry Orlov has been through a societal collapse and come out the other side. On that other side is a fascinating view of contemporary American society, a good deal of wisdom and a surprising amount of hope – not that some magical transformation will fix everything for us, but that even the collapse of empire is not the end of the world."
— Sharon Astyk, author Depletion & Abundance: Life on the New Home Front and blogger, www.sharonastyk.com

"Orlov's Russian perspective on the American collapse is valuable not just for its predictions, but for its attitude: economic collapse is not an unthinkable horror, but a routine and fascinating part of history, and if you find yourself in one, you should look around."
— Ran Prieur, ranprieur.com

"Dmitry Orlov has set out to write a gloomy comparison of what happened to Russia at the end of the Soviet Empire and how illprepared the American Empire is for the same fate, and ended up writing something wickedly funny, profoundly hopeful and filled with good advice. His advice is not to avoid collapse, that would be futile, but to prosper and thrive in the midst of it."
— Albert Bates, attorney, inventor, and author The Post-Petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook