I would only add that wealth is not just physical things. It is knowledge also (fundamentally). For instance if I own a lathe but have no idea of how to use it, it provides me no wealth other than perhaps as a paper weight. Of course I am assuming that if you don’t know how to use the lathe you don’t know who to turn the metal, motor, etc into something else. And of course knowledge has to be able to be put into action. If I know how to clean and stitch up a wound I am wealthier, even if I never have to put that knowledge into action. As Rand explained knowledge or our ability to reason is the source of all our wealth, because it is our unique way in which we survive. This of course will make engineers extremely valuable if things do fall apart.

Happy New Year!
sobering article, well stated.

This is a very good article. I bought an RV from 1974 last year that I am currently rebuilding as a partial hedge against this idea of economic collapse and/or the devaluation of paper money. I would encourage others to do something similar. It leaves a way out, an exit… Just in case.