<p>We discuss Solzhenitsyn and Havel and how to thrive in the tough times ahead. Also the culture of the barter blanket and how to fit that into your community.</p>

<p>Warning - This is a tough conversation and may challenge your worldview.</p>

<p>There is a lot of online chatter about "we are being shut out/shut down; we need to build a parallel economy!"</p>

<p>Or "We just need to elect new people. Our people."</p>

<p>The answer is not a new government or a new economy. The core issue is taking responsibility for your own life. (not in the frequently repeated Republican definition, but in the Solzhenitsyn and Havel application).</p>

<p>A new government or a new economy is a totalitarian solution to a moral problem.</p>

<p>Too many people still believe that they have the right to tell another person what to do. You've heard it, and probably will default to it, under distress:</p>

<p> - "There should be a law!"</p>

<p> - "Someone should do something".</p>

<p>It always defaults to government, law, and forcing others to do something (which requires violence).</p>

<p>We discuss "Live Not BY Lies" and "The Power of the Powerless", and suffering.</p>

<p>We discuss community, reciprocity, and an economy that may be more based on other forms of capital rather than solely based on money. And the lore and culture of the barter blanket and how to fit that into your community.</p>

<p>Episode website: https://thrivingthefuture.com/parallel-economy</p>