It’s About the Resources
This article is a bit dystopian, but there is some evidence it may not be so far-fetched.
It’s meant to present another possible scenario to explain the seemingly crazy, irrational behavior in the world today. Whatever the motive, all that’s happening now does have an ultimate purpose, even if it is obscured by a tsunami of information, misinformation and irrelevant factoids. It’s hard to connect the dots. But to me, those dots are big, red, and flashing.
Let’s digress a little. Remember when being a “prepper” was cool? If you are my age, you might.
A prepper is someone who actively prepares for emergencies, disasters, or societal disruptions by stockpiling supplies, developing survival skills, and creating contingency plans. Gathering resources, building bunkers. The goal is to ensure personal survival and resilience in uncertain situations, self-reliance and preparedness.
Just like in a well directed disaster movie, these people do things behind the scenes, quietly hoarding supplies. They believe they see the future clearly and are preparing for the worst. Of course, they also know that if they told everyone the end was coming, resources would disappear quickly. So, the secret is kept to themselves and a clandestine network of underground support.
Are you a fan of Walking Dead? We all know that when the sh&t hits the fan and the zombie apocalypse is upon us, governments will fall and wars will break out over, you guessed it, resources. The equation goes something like: Existential Threat + Lack of Resources = Global Mass Panic and Self-Annihilation. If you’d like a more recent and quite relevant entertainment reference, watch the new series “Paradise” on Hulu.
However, a key factor in this equation is information. When does the global population who are calmly living their lives become aware that something is amiss? The classic survivalist knows one of the main rules of prepping is to be ready before the big signs of collapse are apparent and before the general population wakes up to what is really happening.
So, what does this have to do with the rise of oligarchy around the world and the current state of politics in America and other authoritarian regimes? Perhaps those with power and wealth are now “prepping”.
That would mean, despite all the declarations from these individuals that climate change is a hoax, that global unrest is unfounded and under control, and that pandemics are not a problem if you don’t test for them, that the same people spewing this misinformation to the masses actually believes in all these existential crises.
And if planetary decline is real, what resources might be the hoarding target?
Clean water and clean air.
Land areas to support human habitation.
Land areas for agriculture and sustainable food.
Energy - fossil fuel, nuclear, solar, wind, etc.
Minerals, rare earth elements (REEs) and materials for building and technology development.
Part of the technological development would likely be an alternative to planetary habitation. For example, Mars, the moon, or perhaps an artificial underground or space-borne location capable of sustaining a subset of the current human population. Think about what you might need to implement such technology and what population might be chosen to survive.
I think you’ve figured out where I’m going with this but let’s connect some dots.
Imagine for a moment you were a demagogue, wannabe dictator, or a psychotic tech giant. What sort of survivalist checklist might you have?
If we’re going down this hypothetical road, history and strategy suggest that a would-be global ruler would need a combination of political, economic, technological, and psychological control. Maybe this playbook sounds familiar.
Gain unchecked control over media, military, and financial sectors in one or more powerful nations.
Develop a unifying ideology or crisis (real or fabricated) that justifies consolidating power.
Control monetary systems on a decentralized network.
Downplay or lie about the true existential threats facing the global population. Refute, invalidate or suppress actual scientific research and knowledge.
Engineer or exploit large-scale disasters (e.g., financial collapse, natural disasters, pandemics) to justify emergency powers while downplaying the connection to broader collapse and power grabs.
Destroy education systems for the mass population to eradicate critical thinking. Attack educational institutions, expert authorities and specialists in all areas, unless they are loyal and in on the plan.
Control data, social media, and AI-driven propaganda to manipulate public opinion and track opposition. Use mass surveillance, AI-driven enforcement, and controlled opposition to maintain order.
Influence global markets, create dependencies, and undermine competing economies through resource control.
Exploit existing political, social, and cultural divisions to weaken potential resistance.
Target and control global resource reserves by negotiation, subjugation or force.
Start segregating populations for key characteristics through immigration and and class isolation.
Control and erode healthcare for the masses to reduce targeted populations.
Of course, this is all highly theoretical and dystopian. Except when you connect it to some of these facts.
The Significance of Rare Earth Elements
Rare earth elements (REEs) are a group of 17 metallic elements known for their unusual fluorescent, conductive, and magnetic properties, making them valuable in various technologies. REEs are also vital for space travel when weight and space are limiting factors and are particularly vital for creating powerful magnets used in navigation, control, and communication systems. Other applications include batteries, mobile phones, medical equipment, wind turbines, and electric vehicles.
Ukraine has significant deposits of rare earths. The country accounts for approximately 5% of the world's reserves. The current administration has targeted negotiations to control these resources as well as nuclear infrastructure.
Greenland possesses significant reserves of rare earth elements (REEs), some of the largest deposits of REEs on Earth,
Fuel and Ore Stockpiling
Greenland possesses large deposits of oil and gas, and various other minerals, including uranium, gold, and zinc, in addition to iron ore, diamonds, copper, and nickel. In 2013, the Parliament of Greenland changed its mining policy to open up for extraction of uranium and other radioactive minerals. Assessments suggest there's a large potential for oil exploitation in the waters off Greenland.
Canada has the 3rd largest oil reserves in the world behind Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. Coal is one of Canada’s top three resources along with forest products like lumber.
Monetary Systems Control
Cryptocurrency, promoted by the tech elite, is decentralized currency, meaning it operates without a centralized authority. Control of this monetary system is key. However, the primary operating cost of a cryptocurrency mining facility is expenditure for electricity. The computational effort needed to support profitable cryptocurrency mining consumes large amounts of electricity, and as a result, a huge amount of energy resources.
Clean, Fresh Water
Russia and Canada hold the largest amount of renewable freshwater resources globally, after Brazil. The Arctic has abundant fresh water as well as low salinity salt water, a possible target for desalination.
Habitable Land Grabs
Rising temperatures, increased drought frequency and intensity, and altered rainfall patterns are major drivers of desertification. It's a global phenomenon that can occur in various regions, including areas around 30 degrees north and south of the equator, as well as in other locations due to factors like climate change and human activities. Florida and the Gulf Coast are below the 30th parallel. It is unlikely to happen at northern latitudes like Canada and Greenland.
Mass migration due to climate change is already happening and is expected to accelerate significantly in the coming decades. Rising sea levels and extreme weather will make coastal regions uninhabitable.
Central American climate refugees will move north toward the U.S.; parts of the southern U.S. may also depopulate due to extreme heat. Border tensions, immigration, social unrest and nationalism may trigger political polarization and anti-immigration movements in wealthier nations.
Agriculture Control
Driving out independent agriculture in favor of corporate owned, governmentally influenced entities ensures control of this resource. As southern latitudes become hot, crop failures and declining freshwater availability will make some regions unfarmable. As northern latitudes warm, more land will become needed to sustain food supply and population growth.
Space and Space Travel
Mars is being investigated both as a possible planet for limited habitat and a boon for resources. In addition, the Moon possesses valuable resources, including water ice, metals like iron and titanium, and rare earth elements.
The ability to reliably explore these areas, regardless of the reason, as well as develop methods for space habitation, depends on controlling technological development and resources.
Government actions worldwide can often be linked to resource hoarding, whether directly or indirectly. Throughout history, nations have stockpiled, controlled, or monopolized resources to maintain power, ensure national security, and gain economic advantages.
So, dots connected, there’s a possibility that there is an underlying theme to the recent actions by governments, politicians, tech leaders and oligarchs worldwide.
If governments are hoarding resources and preparing for climate crises or other disasters while leaving the general public vulnerable, their motives need to be exposed, and they need to be held accountable.
As individuals we can take steps to increase self-sufficiency, resilience, and adaptability. We should invest in our communities by building food, energy, economic and health networks in preparation for any scenario. I don’t believe even the most effective and empathetic government can fully take care of everyone. We all need to play a part.
The one silver lining to all this is that when powerful governments and organizations focus on developing the ability to survive an existential crisis they advance leaps and bounds in research and technology that is beneficial to humanity. Technology is not good or bad, it simply is a tool and is subject to the entity that wields it.
In the right hands, it will benefit generations. Let’s make sure it stays in the right hands.