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by JHK

After the second novel in my World Made By Hand series (The Witch of Hebron) came out in 2010, I was beset by indignant reviews and angry letters from female readers over my depiction of gender and class relations further along in the 21st century. The fictional future economy I described was, in its broad outlines, similar to the future sketched by Chris Martenson and his stable of writers — a re-set to a far more local, much less complex, and downscaled economy, with a lot of formerly modern comforts and conveniences missing from the picture.

Class, Race, Hierarchy, and Social Relations in ‘The Long Emergency’
by JHK

After the second novel in my World Made By Hand series (The Witch of Hebron) came out in 2010, I was beset by indignant reviews and angry letters from female readers over my depiction of gender and class relations further along in the 21st century. The fictional future economy I described was, in its broad outlines, similar to the future sketched by Chris Martenson and his stable of writers — a re-set to a far more local, much less complex, and downscaled economy, with a lot of formerly modern comforts and conveniences missing from the picture.

by JW

Investing in a clothesline for indoor/outdoor drying of laundry may be one of the best small-scale investments one can make.  My family recently broke down and made the leap to purchase and set up a clothesline system.  All I can say is, I wish we had done it years ago.  With heat waves hitting many parts of the country and the cost of energy constantly going up, a clothesline will help you save energy and money throughout the year.

 src=We have set up 2 different ways of drying clothes, one using a high-quality retractable clothesline and one using IKEA folding drying racks.  The 40' of clothesline makes it easy to hang large items and bigger volumes of wet laundry and the folding racks are for smaller loads and indoor drying.

So far we have not used the propane gas dryer for about 3 weeks, and are now contemplating selling the dryer and focusing those resources into more resiliency-building items.  Maybe a washing tub and crank wringer. 

How do you dry your clothes and save energy?

Investing in a Clothesline
by JW

Investing in a clothesline for indoor/outdoor drying of laundry may be one of the best small-scale investments one can make.  My family recently broke down and made the leap to purchase and set up a clothesline system.  All I can say is, I wish we had done it years ago.  With heat waves hitting many parts of the country and the cost of energy constantly going up, a clothesline will help you save energy and money throughout the year.

 src=We have set up 2 different ways of drying clothes, one using a high-quality retractable clothesline and one using IKEA folding drying racks.  The 40' of clothesline makes it easy to hang large items and bigger volumes of wet laundry and the folding racks are for smaller loads and indoor drying.

So far we have not used the propane gas dryer for about 3 weeks, and are now contemplating selling the dryer and focusing those resources into more resiliency-building items.  Maybe a washing tub and crank wringer. 

How do you dry your clothes and save energy?

by Chris Martenson

Executive Summary

  • The inequality of the current system is becoming more and more visible, despite efforts to conceal it
  • History shows that control will break as those running the system are forced to compete more directly for a shrinking pie
  • The 3 essential indicators of instability to watch
  • The high price of a collapse of the status quo (and why developing resilience now is your best investment)

If you have not yet read Part I: Bankers Own the World, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.

More Equal than Others

Like the pigs in Orwell's Animal Farm, those running the current system are quick to convince us they are doing it out of service, not self-interest (many remember the testimony of Goldman Sachs head Lloyd Blankfein that he sees the bank's efforts as "doing God's work"). The media (most of which is owned by the top 147 companies discussed in Part I) reinforces the perception that the status quo is all that stands between us and economic ruin. 

Of course, there's a much darker side to the story. It requires some digging by the curious mind, but the data is there to be found. As previous mentioned, such a parasitical system inevitably concentrates wealth over time into the hands of fewer and fewer of the most privileged and most powerful. Here's an excellent visualization of how that has already happened in the U.S.:

Note that the actual degree of wealth inequality is much worse than Americans perceive it to be. That's not surprising given the absence of light shined on this in the mass media…

The Indicators of Instability to Watch For
PREVIEW by Chris Martenson

Executive Summary

  • The inequality of the current system is becoming more and more visible, despite efforts to conceal it
  • History shows that control will break as those running the system are forced to compete more directly for a shrinking pie
  • The 3 essential indicators of instability to watch
  • The high price of a collapse of the status quo (and why developing resilience now is your best investment)

If you have not yet read Part I: Bankers Own the World, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.

More Equal than Others

Like the pigs in Orwell's Animal Farm, those running the current system are quick to convince us they are doing it out of service, not self-interest (many remember the testimony of Goldman Sachs head Lloyd Blankfein that he sees the bank's efforts as "doing God's work"). The media (most of which is owned by the top 147 companies discussed in Part I) reinforces the perception that the status quo is all that stands between us and economic ruin. 

Of course, there's a much darker side to the story. It requires some digging by the curious mind, but the data is there to be found. As previous mentioned, such a parasitical system inevitably concentrates wealth over time into the hands of fewer and fewer of the most privileged and most powerful. Here's an excellent visualization of how that has already happened in the U.S.:

Note that the actual degree of wealth inequality is much worse than Americans perceive it to be. That's not surprising given the absence of light shined on this in the mass media…

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