The first part says we have too much leverage in our financial system, which I strongly agree with. Toward the end it says, "Denied the opportunity to produce, would-be Atlases are not marrying or procreating, either." This is a logical leap I can't make. The leverage makes things unstable, makes crises more likely, supposedly provides capital to profitable enterprises but can also prop up politically connected unprofitable enterprises. I'm with you on all of that. I just don't see how any of this denies people opportunity to produce.

I have been anticipating a collapse into chaos.
Should there be such a collapse and you live near a big city (like me), expect roaming gangs of looters and home invaders.
Arm yourself with more than one firearm and stock up on ammo.
Note to self: I need to do more in that department.
Another note to self: Enough will never be enough about that.

Outstanding article and possibly the future of all mankind.

I think people still need to eat and have some sort of shelter and will work for those things at least.

A good thought piece, and it brings one to the conclusion that one likely scenario of the collapse of government is the growth of "tribal" authority. Fiefdoms are a very real possibility, and some may grow out of the cartels that have a shadow economy already in existence, with an authority structure in place. The Italian and Irish mafias could see resurrection, and some new "warlords" among the currently unaffiliated wealthy might offer to undertake some sort of societal stabilization. The U.S. might then resemble China after the collapse of the monarchy, and it will take a long time to sort out the most capable and powerful oligarchs.

In such a scenario, the only metal that's a reliable form of currency is lead. Ammunition and arms will become the measure of who's worthy, and who becomes nothing but a subject.

without a productive work force which will ultimate not exist what is considered precious metals now will not have any value.

another excellent article that makes perfect sense...although i think the vast numbers voters will vote in overwhelming numbers to surrender inalienable rights for the "promise" of security from politicans as we slide into totalitarianism...and that also means a slide to economic chaos...

I think your profession will be one of great benefit to you in the coming years. it would be best if you mined for yourself and kept a stash of what you found for your own use- quietly and secretly.

Those of us who have precious metals will become criminals in that the government will make possession of them illegal as they did in the 1930's. The government will want us to accept their "new dollars" when the old ones become worthless, and trade ONLY in those. I am not sure if the precious metals could be used for large purchases like housing and transportation, but they could certainly be used for things like food and probably primary medical care.

Excellent article, Succinct, well thought out. And, unfortunately, it feels like the most logical conclusion.

The space writing about impending collapse is somewhat crowded, including yours truly. The space of good writing about that, or any other topic, is much less crowded. There's always room at the top.

So, and this poses an interesting question, what does one do to stay productive while shrugging?

I have pondered this at length and just cannot fathom not producing value. It makes no sense.

There is the funny euphemism about flipping burgers. And Hugh Axton did that albeit producing the best burger around. But, it did not distract him from waxing philosophical, which was his area.

Producing gold from the ground cannot be done just anywhere. Gold is only where you find it. The geology of Nevada is such that there is a lot of gold potential in the ground. But Nevada is also 87 % "federally owned" public land. And the enviro-government, the Department of the Interior, the US Forest "Service" and the US Fish and Wildlife "Service", and the EPA are now setting the precedent of shutting down such activity pretty much anywhere they want.

The only thing I have thought of for continuing to produce value, and this is in the works, is writing about how bad this is getting. Writing about not being able to produce is productive? Perhaps so in the grand scheme of things and with the ever present question on every gulchers mind - what comes after the shrugging has done its job and the lights are out?

It would appear I am answering my own question. But input would be nice.

Collapse is imposed, to shrug is a choice. If, everywhere one looks, all one sees is collapse imposed by a corrupt and evil system, shrugging is the best hope for self=preservation, as well as for eventually bringing about change. As for Daniel Durand, the Atlas who did not shrug or collapse, he lived during a time, the Industrial Revolution, when Atlases did indeed hold up the world without shrugging or collapsing.

An Atlas that did not shrug or collapse. That one must be pondered upon. Would that describe Dagny until the lights went out? And did not Francisco and John think she was wrong in attempting to continue to feed the beast?

I think we know well what shrugging means, but what is collapsing?

I ask these questions on a personal level. To date, I have maintained as a producer of precious metals from the ground, that mine is one of the most time honored professions across the centuries. Despite all the negative rhetoric about mining, I say that it is one of the most honorable professions in the world. Comes under the heading of "If it can't be grown, it must be mined". In the ancient Scythian tribes, the miner and the metallurgist were the highest esteemed members of society.

I have been in gold and silver mining for nearly 40 years. I have helped, as a geologist, to find and produce millions of ounces of gold and silver. I worked for a number of years at the largest gold mine in the world which was producing about 1.7 million ounces a year.

So, in the usual cyclical downturn and I got laid off, I and a very small group of professionals started our own little company and got control of some hugely prospective exploration ground in an old gold producing district here in Nevada. A year and a half of time and expenditure and the enviro-government took the project.

In the name of a species that they chose not to list as endangered, they invoked a mineral withdrawal on our project.

The irony is that in the face of the fiat currency based economic lunacy, I have now been prevented from the chance of producing real money. Gold. Do I shrug or collapse? Or both?

I urge everyone to own some kind of physical precious metals, not as an investment but as insurance against collapse. Metals should have exchange value for real goods and services, even if fiat currencies are worthless.
As for the next book in the Durand family saga, you may be waiting on that one for a while. I'm working on it, but it is research intensive and I have other projects, including a financial newsletter, that I'm also working on. However, when the next novel is ready to go, you'll certainly hear about on Galt's Gulch.

Excellent and well put. So, would buying silver rounds at this point be worth it?

Also, any heads up on the sequel to "The Golden Pinacle"?