Who’s Responsible for Preparedness: You or the Government?
Most of you already know the answer to the above question. Still, it helps to get think about it once in a while.When 600 million people lose power, who should be responsible for being prepared to get through it: Individuals or government? That question is being asked as India experiences the most widespread blackout in history.
While the article is basically an advertisement for selling a book, it does give you some food for thought and reinforces some of the concepts we already espouse here.
(the emphasis is mine)It’s this author’s view that there is only the illusion of a middle ground when it comes to blackout preparedness. Large-scale electricity production is a socialized function heavily regulated by government. Private companies sanctioned to perform this work are not beholden to individuals, only to the governments that approved their monopolistic existence. That would seem to place the burden of blackout preparedness on government.
However, government disaster relief services only go so far. Literally. Help has to be shipped in from other places. That’s going to take time. It could be hours, days or weeks. The response to Hurricane Katrina is one example.
The same is true of any place in the world. Yes, there will be governments preparing for disaster. No, it won’t be a perfect response. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security.
The reality is individuals are responsible for their well-being, and need to be prepared to the furthest extent they’re able. True, people in developing countries, such as India, are at a disadvantage when it comes to preparedness. But the core principles of survival are as true today as they were thousands of years ago.
In the end, no one is going to help you but yourself.
