Surviving with nothing.

[MrCoffee]

Yes, the movie is coming out and it actually looks pretty good with Viggo Mortenson (sic) in it.

Gold and silver really only have value if their is a society that is wanting to set up some type of currency exchange that extends beyond borders into other communities. It's only worth what people decide what it's worth. There is no intrinsic value. However, no matter what, if there are people around, then there will always be some type of barter/exchange process that assigns value to things. 1 bullet might be the equivalent value of a gold coin. If that was the case in the road, maybe "the man" would have slipped a box into his pocket in case he ran across a town some place.

Cormac McCarthy writes in a very odd style. He does not use conventional grammar rules, and though he has a great ability to paint a great picture, he's depending on your smarts and ability to peel back the confusion in his writing. Some of it's overdone, I think. For instance, in "The Road", I might be wrong, but I don't remember ever getting the man's name. Was that some sort of intentional symbolism to indicate he could be any man? If so, it's a little too obvious. If not, then it was pointless and made the reading a little more tedious.

To me, it was more of a relationship story than it was a survival or apocalypse type story. That's fine.

The movie does look like it will be a depressing winner. As the books is. The Man never mentioned the child's name, it is always just "The boy". The writing style is weird, not at all a style I could read if I wasnt truly interested. Patriots is well acclaimed as well, and I found it to be silly in a lot of ways. Why does it seem like everyone that is a lead character in these survival storys is VERY wealthy? Silly.

Gold, silver, steel, whatever. Some people will always see value in them, no matter what. IMHO. For whatever reason, the are programmed to be easily distracted by shiny objects

 

[needlejr]

Of cause gold will have value. It had value in the middle ages, it had value during the classical period, it had value when civilisation was just getting founded in mesopotamia, I vaguely rememeber that goldmithing was started by the Sumerians around 4000 bc. I doubt civilisation will slide that far back even in the worst case scenario.

If all you have is enough to survive there will be no trade, be it for gold for bullets or for anything else. There will be taking and trying to keep. Once there is any extra however trade can happen and gold will have value. You might be obsesed with a fantasy of an end of the world but most people around you will not be. They will think that disaster will pass, some form of civilisation will restart and there will be rich and there will be poor and having lots of gold put you in the rich category for the last 6000 years, so they will trade for gold, and it will have value.

 

[luckykitty]

As long as people will have hope that some day things will go back to something like normal again gold will be of some value. With enough people surviving to allow trade, there will be people selling bread for gold, the amount of gold needed for a bread may be large, and it makes more sense to have something really useful for trade than just gold

 

[ynrokop]

The Road - Movie Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbLgszfXTAY

 

[derrickd803]

I never heard of the book until I read an article about the new movie they are making for it, im gonna have to check the book out, you all make it sound like its definitely a good read

 

[GIRLYmann]

this movie sounds like a must watch.
the idea of gold and silver is all fine.
but could we add fine Kentucky whiskey to that?
it's bound to be highly sought after currency in all that gloom!
probably the one straight thing for the road.

 

[MrCoffee]

this movie sounds like a must watch.
the idea of gold and silver is all fine.
but could we add fine Kentucky whiskey to that?
it's bound to be highly sought after currency in all that gloom!
probably the one straight thing for the road.

Funny, I alway thought that if the SHTF, the home brewers would be rich as kings within a few years

On the serious side of things ANYONE with a skill to make something that is now mass produced, meds, liquors, butchers, and blacksmiths, gunsmiths and farmers will all have skills to produce items needed or wanted by the general public and therefore have a great chance at successfully getting thru a huge SHTF event. Bartering will become a way of life again.

If your like me, a professional geek, then you best have a back up set of skills, otherwise you have little to barter with. Unless of course you have a warehouse full of Mr Beam, and Mr Daniels.

 

[Marion David Poff]

All good observations.

I would suggest that gold has no "immediate" survival value, though it may have secondary survival value, for instance, in the beginning of the crisis, you could more likely find people who would accept gold as payment, rather than a currency which could have crashed. Or, you might have some in a Wallet/Sap, and you could defend yourself with it.

I think the real value of gold is for people who have wealth they need to protect long term, through the period of crash or instability, into a re-establishment phase. Then, if you still had your gold, as markets and manufacturing began again, gold would regain it's value. This is not me.

I think that the best way to think about these sort of things, is from the ground up.... I fear that I may see a period in my life, where existence gets rolled back to the basics, the survival hierarchy. Personal Protection, Sustenance Etc...

I pray that it continues to be a 'intellectual' endeavour.

 

[glennbad]

I also found "The Road" a tough, but interesting read. I noticed that because of the writing style, with no quotes, I had to pay closer attention to the flow so I wouldn't lose track of who was saying what.

As far as gold having value in those situations, I think some would find value in it, but not the mainstream population. In the book "Dies the Fire", food, medicine, and supplies were the valuable items. Like MrCoffee said, the people that had useful skills were like gold. Handymen, animal doctors and horse handlers, strong tactical leaders were highly prized in your group, and they measured every newcomer to see what skill they had to offer the group.

Glenn

 

[KeithAM]

The Road impressed me so much that I read it Road twice right away. No Country for Old Men is a great book too. :thumbup:

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Gold is for the mistress -- silver for the maid --
Copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade."
"Good!" said the Baron, sitting in his hall,
"But Iron -- Cold Iron -- is master of them all."
~Rudyard Kipling, Cold Iron

 

[jackknife]

Gold is for the mistress -- silver for the maid --
Copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade."
"Good!" said the Baron, sitting in his hall,
"But Iron -- Cold Iron -- is master of them all."
~Rudyard Kipling, Cold Iron

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

It takes iron to keep the gold!

 

[Ravaillac]

Gold, silver, steel, whatever. Some people will always see value in them, no matter what. IMHO. For whatever reason, the are programmed to be easily distracted by shiny objects

Actually there is a good reason why gold has value in even fairly primitive society: gold almost doesn't degrade at all.
You could argue that in a survival situation food or "useful" metals like steel/cooper or consumer goods would be worth gold but food spoils, steel rusts, consumers good age, degrade go out of fashion, and all those are not half as "compact" as gold: try to run away with tons of wheat.
Gold apart from (limited) pratical applications (jewelery, hi-tech electronics) is very compact, easy to carry/hide, almost inalterable. As already said the thing worthed a lot in Antiquity and still does, so any one with some reasonable hope in future might be interested, so once you've got your basic needs covered, it might be more interesting to pile your extra wealth in the more convenient gold.

Not that I'm a lot into gold just trying to put up some theory.

 

[m]

It is always a good idea to use your wealth to help others in need:


Matthew 6:19-20

19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 

[Ravaillac]

It is always a good idea to use your wealth to help others in need

Sure it is, even for very practical reasons. Gaining others appreciation and support is worth ... gold, not even considering the altruist aspect.
Yet sometimes you have to plan for the day the others won't help you.

 

[abo4ster]

For what its worth since it kept coming up ~ my opinion.

Precious metals should only be acquired after the other stuff (food, ammo, etc.) are addressed.

Gold is a long-term storage of wealth you would expect to use once you get to the other side of an event.

Junk silver (pre64 U.S. silver coins) could provide purchasing power after initial bartering of needs subsides as it is in a recognizable currency with a known content/weight. If you only have a couple grand or less to put in precious metal, go for the silver before the gold ~ how you going to get change out of that American Eagle for a loaf of bread?

 

[Don Rearic]

The Road is an interesting book but it is most certainly not for everyone. I think some people just shut down either because of the way it is written or because it really is a depressing book.

Gold and silver are for other survival-related situations and not really for this type of situation.

 

[ras]

Gold is for the mistress -- silver for the maid --
Copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade."
"Good!" said the Baron, sitting in his hall,
"But Iron -- Cold Iron -- is master of them all."
~Rudyard Kipling, Cold Iron

"Gold is the money of kings; silver is the money of gentlemen; barter is the money of peasants; but debt is the money of slaves."
Money and Wealth in the New Millennium, by Norm Franz.

Gold/silver have a role. Without a society to make gold relevant, it doesn't have much value. That said, as I type gold is just short of $1000/oz. I think we're going to see the effect of that debt thing in the next few years. Some in gov't try to sell it as a positive attribute.

 

[Bushman5]

in a SHTF scenario, a man with a supply of bicycles, and spare tires, chains, tubes, patches will do VERY well.

 

[dextersp1]

When I hear all those adds selling gold, I think to myself, "If gold is such a good investment, why don't they keep it?"

They are just middle men; they are just selling a product like any other. They buy gold coins and sell them to you to make a profit.