Five Ways To Avoid Populist Flak

Populism is reaching fever-pitch. The corruption of our so-called ‘elites’ is worse than folk thought. I’m not a populist myself, but I do want a sharp course-correction. A few heads displaced by guillotine would not be out of order in my opinion. I won’t go on, because the Epstein saga is being covered by almost everyone at the moment.

Here’s the question which got me thinking recently:

We know that we aren’t part of the ‘elites’, but do they?

Jeffrey Epstein used bitcoin, you know! I have an uneasy feeling that we will cop flak as the vengeance against the so-called elites plays out.

Executive Order 6102, April 1933 was populist

The infamous nimming¹ of privately-held gold in 1933 was populist. Rich people had gold. Poor people kept their money in savings accounts or under the mattress. Gold reeked of upper-class privilege in the midst of the Great Depression. It was ironic that gold was the best antidote to the Federal Reserve. Wise people had gold.

Executive Order 6102 is an on-target example of flak.

“Live and Let Live”

Right now, you probably have a false sense of security. It’s based on the docility of hoi polloi. Most folk are just trying to get along. They don’t begrudge you your way of life. You picture a future like that. Sadly, mild-mannered folk can get swept up in the rhetoric of a populist rabble-rouser. Worse, there is a section of society that wants to take you down a peg or two. I call them the ‘illiberals’. They call for nanny-state laws which hurt the noblest of individuals; the true ‘elites’ in the original sense of the word. The illiberals are the ones who will cheer on the killing of your farm animals, so long as the BBC states that it is needed and scientific.

How you get outnumbered

Because you are bothering to read this, you are probably either an anarchist or a hippy.² Maybe you are a younger conservative of the more libertarian ilk. Here’s our problem. The illiberals are 20%— 1 in 5 people; doesn’t seem much, but that’s all they need. The nihilists and the sheeple, and even most of the conservatives, will back them up. The nihilists laugh at anyone’s downfall; the sheeple obey orders; and the conservatives are busy looking after their families.

I think it’s best to work on the basis that your town will be overrun with enemies. Don’t leave your ramparts ruined and undefended. Take matters into your own hands. We still have time. Here are five tips. Let them be a starting-point for your thinking up more.

1. Be barely visible or amongst loyal allies.

You have two options. The first is to live as anonymously and quietly as possible in a modest, bland house; you might need to move to a new town to do this. The second is to live amongst like-minded allies, and be helpful to them; likewise, this might require a move. The most important criterion for being ‘like-minded’ is that they aren’t sheeple.

2. Read how freedom-loving people really coped.

Learn from the best. Read Havel, Kundera, Milosz. I would also strongly recommend Arendt and Kafka. For sure, there are many other worthwhile authors on the topic of coping with totalitarianism.

3. Use money privately

Bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), and litecoin (LTC), have very good privacy options nowadays. Check out , for instance, Ashigaru Wallet— the Swiss Army knife of bitcoin’s privacy features.³ You could go the whole hog and use monero (XMR) or pirate chain (ARRR). Don’t forget about good ol’ cash. Maybe you could set up a weekly barter or chore as a private source of cash? Don’t bank on ATMs always working.

4. For crypto, use unobvious hardware wallets

I have a problem with popular crypto hardware ‘wallets’. They put a target on your back. Customs officers notice them like flies notice dead birds. Instead, I suggest that you make your own. It’s easy with Cupcake by Cake. It’s a downloadable app that turns an old smartphone into a hardware wallet. You must broaden your ideas about guarding your crypto. Imagine a nosy official rummaging through your stuff.

5. Arson-proof your property

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to this, but you never know. Use A.I. to get tips on how to make your property arson-proof. For instance, around every building, there should be a 3 meter radius (at least) of nothing flammable. Why arson in particular? Arson is relatively easy for cowards. It’s the ‘go-to’ form of intimidation and political violence. Maybe it’s too bleak a picture I sketch, but I do see a deeply divided society ahead.

Takeaways

• There is a populist uprising coming.
• Illiberals will target good, freedom-loving people too.
• Choose a quiet, anonymous lifestyle, or a helpful lifestyle amongst like-minded people.
• Learn from the wisest dissidents of the 20th century Communist regimes.
• Use money privately.
• It wouldn’t hurt to arson-proof your property just in case things get really bad.