Introduction
It is natural for civilizations to experience periods of prosperity and decline since it is a complex social structure where people are the mechanisms. Through experience, science, and surviving sources, people learned to identify some of the impending decline patterns to prevent or avoid the upcoming crises. One of the tactics for avoiding civilizational decline is survivalism. It is “the practice of preparing for a crackup of civilization” (Osnos). Interestingly, survivalism has been gaining popularity over the past 20 years among wealthy people, specifically those of the big tech and financial industries. As a result, this phenomenon gradually attracted public interest, especially among journalists. Osnos explored this in his article comprehensively. Using the techniques of historical, sociological, economic, and philosophical analysis, Osnos proved his thesis that the phenomenon of survivalism among the rich has become very popular in recent years and even predicted the future that can be seen today.
Techniques of Historical and Sociological Analysis Used in the Article
The writer has used many methods to prove his thesis, and some of them are historical and sociological analyses. For example, Osnos compares the current big tech millionaires and hedge fund managers to the past wealthy philanthropists, such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. He concludes that the current generation of rich people no longer believe in the American Dream and prefer to invest in their refuge in fear of an impending social catastrophe instead of helping society. The author also describes and analyzes historical events of the twentieth century, such as the Cold War, the Great Depression, and Project Greek Island, to explain vault survivalism’s origins. Osnos also discusses the social paradox of technological progress and growing inequality with interviewees, signs of which are noticeable nowadays. By doing this, he shows the reasons for the popularity of survivalism. It is noteworthy that the author skillfully uses the classical western argument model to make his point more persuasive.
Techniques of Economic and Philosophical Analysis Used in the Article
Other techniques used by the author of the article are economic and philosophical analysis. Osnos connects the trending survivalism with the 2008-2009 global financial crisis to explain wealthy people’s fears and the reasons they seek second citizenship, specifically New Zealand’s one. The author also analyzes the fear of the near future through the prism of Christian mythology. He mentions the duality of “apocalypse and paradise” to explain the paradox of technological progress and increasing inequality (Osnos). He also talks about the inevitable Doomsday concept to make readers understand why some rich people try to prevent the upcoming social disaster, and others want to avoid it (Osnos). Interestingly, the author was able to predict the future, namely such events as “… political turmoil, including racial tension, polarization, and a rapidly aging population” (Osnos). It is safe to say that 2020 was marked by such kinds of events, and it seems that 2021 is also going to be so.
Conclusion
This work analyzes the thesis that Osnos formulated in his article. He argues that survivalism has been heavily popularized among such wealthy categories as big tech and hedge fund managers over the past ten years. An analysis of the article was carried out, and it was found that the author successfully proved his point of view using diverse techniques. Moreover, his work predicted some of the social processes that can be seen today.
Work Cited
Osnos, Evin. “Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich.” New Yorker, 2017, Web.