Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Example and American Prospects |  | Author: Dmitry Orlov
Publisher: New Society Publishers
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Rating:  44 reviews
Sales Rank: 14757
Media: Paperback
Edition: First Printing
Pages: 176
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 0.6
ISBN: 0865716064
Dewey Decimal Number: 320
EAN: 9780865716063
ASIN: 0865716064
Publication Date: June 1, 2008
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Product Description
The title of this book is Reinventing Collapse, and I have to say that's exactly what this book manages to do. It's a short book, so you could reqad it in just a few hours, but it is packed with information and "make you think" moments. Orlov's unique perpsective on American life engages the reader and opens your eyes to what life in America is like to an outsider.
Without a doubt the most useful aspect of this book are the details of what the situation was like in Russia after their political collapse. This book is a tutorial on how the reader might modify thier life in the future if (or when) America collapses.
Reviewed by Matt Mayer - Groovy Green In the waning days of the American empire, we find ourselves mired in political crisis, with our foreign policy coming under sharp criticism and our economy in steep decline. These trends mirror the experience of the Soviet Union in the early 1980s. Reinventing Collapse examines the circumstances of the demise of the Soviet superpower and offers clear insights into how we might prepare for coming events. Rather than focusing on doom and gloom, Reinventing Collapse suggests that there is room for optimism if we focus our efforts on personal and cultural transformation. With characteristic dry humor, Dmitry Orlov identifies three progressive stages of response to the looming crisis: - Mitigation—alleviating the impact of the coming upheaval
- Adaptation—adjusting to the reality of changed conditions
- Opportunity—flourishing after the collapse
He argues that by examining maladaptive parts of our common cultural baggage, we can survive, thrive, and discover more meaningful and fulfilling lives, in spite of steadily deteriorating circumstances. This challenging yet inspiring work is a must-read for anyone concerned about energy, geopolitics, international relations, and life in a post-Peak Oil world. Dmitry Orlov was born in Leningrad and immigrated to the United States at the age of twelve. He was an eyewitness to the Soviet collapse over several extended visits to his Russian homeland between the late eighties and mid-nineties. He is an engineer and a leading Peak Oil theorist whose writing is featured on such sites as www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net and www.powerswitch.org.uk.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 44
 Re-inventing Collapse September 21, 2009
Mr. K. Suitor (Australia)
Exceptionally well written and humurous book. Easy to read, Couldn't put it down til I had finished.
Very Thought-Provoking! September 2, 2009
Loyd E. Eskildson (Phoenix, AZ.)
Orlov sees a number of interesting parallels between the old Soviet Union and the U.S. He sees the cause of Russia's economic collapse which occurred about 20 years ago as plummeting oil prices caused by oversupply, followed by falling deeper and deeper in debt until lenders balked at making further loans. Both the U.S. and the Soviet Union also have/had bloated jail and defense sectors - with the latter bogged down in both instances fighting Muslims and spread around the world, and both have/had delusions of grandeur that prevent honest discussions of problems. Large foreign debts and unresponsive political systems provide additional parallels. Orlov sees the U.S. eventually as unable to finance its oil imports, thereby causing financial collapse, though he is not willing to predict when this will occur.
For every actual dollar within the U.S. economy that is not borrowed, Orlov contends there are over 13 dollars of borrowed money, which only can exist if the debt can continue to be rolled over. Monetizing that debt would require over 1300% inflation. With money, stocks, and bonds no longer particularly potent, other ways of winning the cooperation of others would need to be evolved in a hurry. Orlov suggests relying instead on a network of associates and relatives to get things done. Hoarding, looting, and a huge, black market would become widespread for all sorts of necessities. It will be difficult to keep equipment running as imports will dry up, especially imports of spare parts for foreign-made machinery.
By the time this happens, Orlov believes it will be too late to plan, and state-supplied services may no longer be sustainable. Some states are already experiencing massive budget shortfalls and begging for bailout money, though the problem origin is not as predicted by Orlov. Commercial collapse will likely follow, with bare store shelves and emergency national government response required to ensure that people do not starve. This could possibly also be followed by local government collapse, in which case Orlov suggests martial law over mayhem and lawlessness that would be particularly likely with the U.S.'s varied ethnicities and wide availability of personal firearms (neither were an issue in the Soviet Union). In that instance, troops returned from foreign military bases would be retained and reassigned to domestic peacekeeping duties - especially if there were widespread release of prisoners due to bankrupt local governments.
Orlov believes that Soviet Union was better prepared for economic collapse than the U.S. will be. Why - because many Russian state-run functions continued during the financial collapse. Most housing was free and owned by the government; similarly utilities, health care, all levels of education, and public transportation. The large Soviet public sector also reduced the negative impact on employment, though payments were often late and there were slowdowns and massive inventory accumulations. The Soviet Union was also self-sufficient in energy and other valuable resources. In the U.S., however, Orlov sees a flood of layoffs, foreclosures, and near commercial-sector collapse.
Bottom Line: Recent bailouts of the U.S. financial sector have not delivered us from potential economic collapse. Our indebtedness is growing faster than ever, as is our reliance on foreign energy. Per Orlov's thinking and the Soviet Union's experience, a U.S. collapse is inevitable and will be much worse than that of the Soviets.
darkly funny and imaginitive. July 15, 2009
Justin A. Corwin (Playa del Rey, CA United States)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is at points poignant, terrifying, and hilarious. I found it miles better than many more dour and plodding peak oil presentations, and a nimble critic of consumerist culture.
I found it a blazingly fast and disturbing read. Highly recommended for purposes entertaining and serious.
We have seen the NEAR FUTURE and it looks grim July 2, 2009
desert doolie IV (tuckson,az)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The best manual on why the collapse of the Us is gonna be a lot of pain and suffering.
Bad news, sunshine !!!!!!
Interesting read June 21, 2009
Adam Rose (Portland, OR)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Orlav is a great writer. He is a funny, witty, clear, and perceptive wordsmith. I enjoyed the book very much stylistically.
Contentwise I also really enjoyed it. The book is fairly short, but I learned a lot from it. He does a remarkable job of comparing our situaltion to that of the SU, and how we may be in much worse shape than they were in many ways. He gives some good practical advice about the best living situation, what is important to get a hold of in case of a catastrophe, and how to prepare in other various ways. He qualifies all of this by saying that flexibily is most important and that one's plans should not be too rigid, as we have no idea exactly how a collapse will manifest. Some of the text is repetitive, and could have been cut out, especially towards last third of the book.
His observations are keen, but there is no way of saying that because this happened, then something else will. It is safe to say that we are in deep trouble and having some sense of how to ready ourselves is critical. How exactly the big deciders on the stage of world event s decide to conduct themselves is a mystery to us. They may choose to allow us to live in slightly worse conditions for decades, or they may choose to do what they did to the 7 million people of the Ukraine: starve them to death. We'll see. Until then, we lead the best lives we can and prepare ourselves however best we can.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 44
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