Are Preppers Selfish?
12 min read

Recently, a small firestorm was ignited by Valerie Lucus-McEwen, a government Emergency Management employee, who had the temerity to accuse preparedness types of “selfishness.” While your immediate reaction may be – as mine certainly was – “Are people really and truly this thoughtless?” – this question does deserve a proper answer, particularly as those who are easily influenced by the leftist media, or who believe the state really and actually is the omniscient, omnipotent savior of our personal and corporate lives, are actually asking this question. So, let’s examine the issue:
First, many preparedness types have, as part of their goal, the intent of helping neighbors and family who were unable – or unwilling – to prepare. In my own case, part of what I have in mind is assisting a large group of mentally retarded and Down’s syndrome children that my church has taken under its wing. (A group the state would do no more than “warehouse” if it were under their direction!). Not all preppers feel this way, but I would bet my bottom can of stored tuna fish there is an exceedingly large percentage of preparedness types who feel similarly.

One significant point of observation – that has significant ramifications relative to preparedness – is that, in my experience, the non-prepper type is generally of a socialist orientation. Of course, as most of you know, this approach was tried – and found wanting – all the way back in the Pilgrim era. Many of you are aware that when the Pilgrims first arrived, they worked out of a communal system. The result was starvation and death. As this approach did not work, they then “privatized” their system – and of course flourished. You can easily research this history yourself, but if one has any experience with human nature, it is immediately apparent why this didn’t – and has never in history – worked. The issue is that human nature is imperfect and selfish, just as Adam Smith wrote about in the Wealth of Nations. A simple recognition of this basic aspect of human nature – and finding a way to work with this reality, rather than against it, provides the most good for the largest number of people – exactly as Smith wrote, and exactly as history has shown for anyone who has eyes to see. To do otherwise impoverishes people, and in times of crisis, will lead to otherwise avoidable deaths. Working with this reality of human nature, rather than against it, has brought the greatest good for people overall in both good periods of history, as well as difficult. And for those of you with Judeo-Christian worldviews, this issue is why Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn called Communism “a Christian heresy” – viz., the Communist assumptions about human nature were completely off-base. Long story short, the question is: Is man perfectible (particularly with the best and brightest, such as Hilary, George Soros, Al Gore and President Obama telling – nay, forcing – us what to do!), or are all men fallible, and the dictum of Lord Acton correct that absolute power corrupts absolutely correct. There is an un-bridgeable divide between these two assumptions, and this divide makes itself manifest in the Hamlet-like “to prep or not to prep” debate.
The Fleet Street Letter put this matter perspicaciously a number of years ago, and is worth quoting at length:
“There are two major traditions in Western political thought. The first is Aristotelian, logical, rational, centrist, mechanistic. You concentrate power and truth in the centre and apply it outward, shaping the world according to plan. This was the guiding principle of the Roman Empire. It evolved into the Holy Roman Empire and the Church of Rome. Except for Switzerland, it has dominated politics on the continent ever since. Most recently, it has morphed into the European Union. The principle is simple – smart people can figure out how to run things, and should be allowed to do so. This was the idea behind Hillary Clinton’s health care task force (and now Obama Care), as well as Japan, Inc. and even Adolph Hitler’s National Socialist Germany. It has animated nearly every politician (each one of whom, as Garrison Keillor notes about Lake Woebegone children, are above average) in this century. But there is another tradition that is much less well understood. It is the tradition of the Roman Republic… of English common law… of Adam Smith and Emmanuel Kant… of Austrian School economists such as Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek and of pre-Rooseveltian American. It is organic, rather than mechanistic – the tradition of tradition, based on the recognition that people, no matter how smart, cannot replace thousands of years of accumulated experience. Experience is embodied in the evolved systems of values, customs, rules and traditions that people use to order and give meaning to their lives. A free market and a free society allow people to express these preferences, as well as allowing the process of social and civil evolution to continue. This tradition, in other words, is neither liberal nor conservative in the modern sense, but anti-political. Indeed, it is often seen as “anti-intellectual” because it denies the authority of intellectuals to tell the rest of us what to do (through the political process).”
Perhaps you, like I do, remember the “best and the brightest” who led the Vietnam war? How did that one work out? Or, if that news is too stale, perhaps you care to visit present day Detroit – which was the first city to adopt the socialist “Model Cities Program” in under Mayor Coleman Young a number of decades ago. Similarly, Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” was a quasi socialist endeavor, which was intended to end poverty. You can judge for yourself what all those $9 trillion dollars spent on this “war” resulted in (hint: we now have just under 48 million on food stamps, up from 32 million when President Obama took office, and with more poverty than ever).
The basic misunderstanding is, as Frederic Bastiat wrote in The Law,
“Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all. We disapprove of state education. Then the socialists say that we are opposed to any education. We object to a state religion. Then the socialists say that we want no religion at all. We object to a state-enforced equality. Then they say that we are against equality. And so on, and so on. It is as if the socialists were to accuse us of not wanting persons to eat because we do not want the state to raise grain.”
There is yet another misunderstanding to clear up for those of Christian persuasion, as exemplified in the Book of Acts, 2:24, in the New Testament, which states about the early believers;
“And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common.”
Dr. Jay Richards addresses this superbly in his book Money, Greed and God: Why Capitalism is the
Solution and Not the Problem by simply noting that the early Christians held things in common privately, voluntarily and without compulsion. This is light years away from the state forcing sharing, and under compulsion.

And one more important observation, that is applicable to the prepping community: When I donate my own money at present, I watch like a hawk where it is going, and what it is doing. When my money goes for taxes to “help” others – for the few dollars that actually make it past the money sucking gauntlet of bureaucrats – how much actually reaches its destination? Some research shows as little as 10% or so. As the saying goes, it is much better to teach someone to fish, rather than just give them a fish for a day. And I can do a thousand times more, with a million times more love, for 1% of the money, that the government could ever dream of doing, if I were left with my own money to donate as I wish. Similarly, preparedness is most optimally left to the individual, not the state. I am clearly not saying there is no place at all for the state to assist. However, it should be ancillary and very secondary in function. To do otherwise is to set expectations that can only be dashed – exactly as was seen during hurricanes Katrina or Sandy.
So, how does this relate to preparedness with potential future catastrophic disasters? In a collapse – whether it be Argentinian/Greek/Zimbabwe style, or EMP, or a global war, compassion must be personal and voluntary. Not only is it more effective, it is more ethical. And it is more ethical because it is more caring, more direct, and more efficient. In a collapse, there should be a voluntary exchange, and for those that are not prepared, there should be some type of assistance rendered by the one who has not prepared (it could be cooking, gardening; perhaps doing guard duty or carpentry). Where this is not possible, simple humanity and compassion should – and undoubtedly will be – the hallmark of many preppers.
In a serious collapse, there may well be a need to choose whom one would help, or not, but that is a decision that will be very personal. For myself – in contrast to the government representatives who so condescendingly accuse preppers such as myself of being self-centred, I will indeed (as noted above) look to help the weak and helpless. You may object by saying “A lot of good that will do – we should, as per people like Dr. Peter Singer, just let the weak die.” To which I reply, “A society that only values those of utility is not a society worth keeping – and in fact, is precisely the type of society – with its abortions, euthanasia, etc. – that got us into this mess in the first place.”
Another point: I would be remiss not to mention in the context of this article is the very self-apparent fact that for every person who is prepared, that is one less mouth to feed in a real crisis. This needn’t be addressed further, as it is patently obvious, but is yet another reality that the debunkers always seem, somehow, to neglect to address, though it is staring them right in the face. The regular silence by these debunkers is a stark testimony to what is either a lack of critical thinking, or a purposeful lack of honesty is examining the relative merits of preparedness.
God – or for the non-believer, nature herself – has written self-preservation into our very DNA. Certainly, from a Judeo Christian perspective, each individual person has the right to self-preservation. The Bible is replete with laws allowing for self-defense in the Old Testament, and even in the New Testament – while unequivocally admonishing believers to be irenic and forgiving, also quotes Christ telling the disciples, for example in Luke 22:36, in preparation for when He is gone, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.” There are historically several approaches to defense in the Bible – complete pacifism, the use of “police” force, and just war, but that is beyond the scope of this paper. Suffice to say, self-defense is well within the historical understanding of options for Christians in a violent world, although admittedly this can be a difficult issue to navigate, and there is a range of conclusions which sensible people can come to within the pale of faith. Similarly, I extend this self-defense conception into that of realm of preparedness. I think the extension is fair and reasonable, about which reasonable people can disagree in some areas.
Also, relative to preparedness and faith, clearly Proverbs 27:12 explicitly states – and which passage many preparedness types are familiar with – “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.” In a world where well-regarded individuals like Dr. Lawrence Kotlikoff of Boston University state the total amount of unfunded liabilities – federal, state, municipal and corporate – are now a staggering $222 trillion, where the amount of derivatives (which Warren Buffet famously once called “financial weapons of mass destruction”) world-wide makes that amount look like a molehill, in a nation where people like Jon Corzine can “lose” $1.6 billion and simply walk away without a day in jail, where lives are lost during Fast and Furious and people just shrug their shoulders, or a in nation about which Billy Graham’s wife Ruth once said “If God doesn’t’ judge America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah,” is preparedness unwise? Leftists may object, and that is their prerogative. However, if they wish not to prepare, then perhaps they ought to take to their own hearts and written commentary the one thing they forcefully invoke for everyone else in every other situation – tolerance. What business of theirs is it?
With all due respect to them, why is it our non-prepper friends, as exemplified by the written commentary of Ms. Lucus-McEwen noted above, why cannot they practice what they presumably preach about tolerance? Why must people like this actively vilify those with whom they disagree? (But of course, the answer is obvious – just as in the days of Imperial Rome, everyone but everyone must bow to the all-encompassing supremacy of the state. To do otherwise means crucifixion – 2,000 years ago, this was in the arena; today, it is the high-tech lynching of a Clarence Thomas, the fashion execution of a Sarah Palin, or the just the “mere” thuggery against those of us who beg to disagree with big government by modern-day Kristalnacht Alinsky ruffians.
The whole area of faith and preparedness admittedly needs much further and deeper exegesis – but hopefully this scratches the surface of the subject, and opens up additional conversation.
But even for the non-believer, one’s body is wired for self-preservation. And if nature is all that exists, logically one has no basis to “backtalk against one’s DNA,” which has written self-preservation into the body. From either a biblical or non-biblical perspective, self-preservation is an intrinsic “good.” Why should preppers then be castigated?

One final – and extremely telling – point about “selfish preppers.” The woman who wrote this disparagingly of preppers was a government worker. This means she makes a good living off of private sector people such as myself. As a matter of fact, I cannot currently make adequate preparations for my family and I because I have to provide a “princessly” salary and retirement package for her (the average government worker may make a third more in salary than a private sector worker, and retires much, much earlier). But here is the kicker: If there is a disaster – it will mostly likely brought about by yet another miscalculation by the self-proclaimed “best and brightest,” (think Vietnam, the internet bubble, Long Term Capital Management, Jon Corzine, the housing bust, etc.). Do you know where these “important” will people go? To continuity of government shelters! In other words, if there is a miscalculation, and a nuclear war starts, or an EMP or biological attack starts, they are all set to retreat to specially built giant, lavishly equipped caverns – while you and I fend for ourselves, due to a mess of their creation! Any word from our “preppers are selfish” commentariat on that? Why not?. If nothing else in this article sinks home to you, this should make crystal clear the hypocrisy behind the prepper criticism. The truth is, just as we see with today’s cronyism in high places, as George Orwell so aptly noted, “In the socialist workers’ paradise, we’ll all be equal… only some of us (usually them!) will be ‘more equal’ than the others.” Just ask Nancy Pelosi why her Congress exempted themselves, their cronies and their districts from Obama Care if you don’t believe that.
In sum, I prepare the same reason my all my forebears did each fall: I don’t know what the winter (of this case, the future) will bring. While for believers, God has promised to be with us and sustain us, as the old saying goes, we can’t ask God to direct our steps if we are unwilling to move our feet. I trust, and my feet move.
Amazing
I don’t think so. We make provisions for our family. We are willing to share our knowledge and teach the ones who want to know. However we should never tell anyone exactly what we have.
The only thing I think is selfish is those who say they wont think twice about shooting someone who comes to thier door during a crisis. That thinking has always rubbed me wrong. Maybe its just bravado or maybe they would shoot with out remorse. Just my thoughts on subject.
Nope. None of the sheep care to take care for themselves, now that is selfish.
Dum da-dum-dum dum!
I am selfish when it comes to prepping in a sense. I prep for ny family. My life is the story of the ants and the grasshopper. I will never be the grasshopper.
Absolutely not. That’s why they prepped. Others that do not prep will say that come the time they need something and get denied because the prepper sacrificed to gather his/her supply’s for their family. Just because others are in need doesn’t make you obligated to take away from your own family.
said the grass hopper to the ant
i tell everyone to at least store 2 mths worth of food and water,because when you start ,you just keep doing it..people tell me i’m nuts,well don’t bang on my door later,i warned you !!!!
The problem is the socialist mindset of ‘whats yours is mine’… you can’t talk to people like that.
What’s your is yours
Selfish maybe. If you do not cover and protect yourself,no one will.
Nope. I don’t call myself a prepper although I am “Prepared”. I do it as I was raised that way for hurricanes, other bad storms, economic reasons, illness etc. So why would it be selfish?
I agree with these statements especially about the people who won’t prep being the selfish ones. But then what can you expect from those that expect the government to provide for everything else in their lives? Katrina was a good example. FEMA can’t get there fast enough? It’s because they’re racists or classists. I’m tired of leeches who refuse to do anything for themselves and then sit and biotch when someone won’t give them what they think they are owed. Heaven forbid they get what they deserve.
I don’t believe it’s selfish to be prepared to defend yourself, your family and their needs. I would share with anyone that needed my help but I’ll be damned if they will take it by force, coercion or even trickery. I refuse to be victimized that way. If that makes me selfish in someone else’s eyes it’s ok I can live with that.
Under the fair share laws (10289) the Gov will decide who should get your hoard not you. Your friends family and others you are willing to help will just have to get in line at a FEMA camp. And you will also.
Ayn Rand might have had something to say about this, lol. Is it selfish to put the most valuable things in your life ( ie family) above others? Absolutely not.
Cannot use a broad brush to paint ALL preppers. Sure there may be some selfish preppers but the ones I know are very thoughtful and love helping others become more self reliant and prepared, both for a natural disaster or a man made one.
Sadly some who think preppers are selfish are the very ones who want government to rule ones life. The ones who insist a nanny state is best. Wrong! Maybe if they were to read the Consitution they would also discover that we are supposed to take care of ourselves and our family first and foremost so we dont become a burden to society at large. Then we are to be helpful in our community, and this is where states rights come in. Nowhere do I read where we are beholden to the federal government.
Hell no we work out butts off and invest OUR time. We spread the work and encourage others to prepare as well. It is survival of the smartest. If you are too stupid to hear what we say while we are offering help before SHTF why should we help you after SHT
Love thy neighbor help others. How about help those who help themselvs. Teach a man to fish he eats for a lifetime, feed a man for one day he learns nothing and starves the next.
I think it’s very smart for those who are preppers to keep that information to themselves.
Heck no! Now stop looking at my stuff
Alison did you read the article? The conclusion of it is that preppers are not selfish.
I admit I did not read it word for word…it was looonnngg. But I did get the general concept. I guess I have a pavlov reaction to today’s general consensus that up is down, good is bad, right is wrong that is being projected by the coup that’s being carried out in our country right now. Sorry if my foaming at the mouth seemed out of sink with the article.
well they have to help they self before anyone help them an they are not looking at what going on or happening .
No. Its not our responsibility to take care of those who don’t want to prep. They should have stocked up on their own supplies.
I must humbly disagree. I’ve worked hard and skipped things I WANTED for things I NEEDED. I have and am continuing to prepare for at least one year of survival with a goal of needing to shift to a long term self-supporting mode. I know that if I begin giving away my supplies I will be endangering my family, both from hunger and people searching desperately for food. My only obligation is to my family.
No.
I’m not a selfish prepper I tell everyone that I care about that they should prep too. If I was selfish I wouldn’t try to get others to prep for themselves. Will I share my preps that I worked and sacrificed to get. With others that knock on my door when shit actually happens. Nope especially not if I told them that they should start prepping.
As the man of the house. I am responsible for the preparation and survival of my own. If your man does not prep to take care of you when the grocery stores no longer carry food. You might want to start, or find you a new man.
Stupid question. “Stupidity is the only universal capital crime…” Robert Heinlein
“The only stupid question is the one left unasked!”
I highly recommend you reading ALL of the article.
We aren’t selfish! Our family comes 1st! If it looks like I won’t be using things getting close to “best buy” dates, then we donate those items to the local food banks and replenish. I would like to think that most “preppers” are somewhat generous when the need arises.
During the revolutionary war red coats enter colonist homes and took what they needed and destroyed the rest so the rebels could not use it. We have learned nothing from history and it will happen again FEMA , DHS and the current administration are modern red coats
Since starting prepping about a year ago I feel more secure, self-sufficient, and content. When people accuse me of being paranoid I just say “nope, not any more. Bring it on!”
A growing number of preppers would be more than happy to help others learn the disaster preparedness skills and emergency planning techniques needed for survival. Unfortunately, TV shows like Doomsday Preppers often cast preppers and survivalists as crazy hoarders and militant factions, placing preppers into a position that makes them remain secretive in order to avoid public ridicule. Maybe if the Government would become more supportive of the Nation’s desire to protect themselves, statements like those made by Valerie Lucus-McEwen would cease.
If we complain every time somebody stupid says something….well.
Only if saving your life is selfish!
One must read Lucus-McEwen’s comment in its proper context. If one assumes a collectivist system to be the system of choice, then obviously self-reliance and self-actualization would be considered “selfish.”
I totally agree Robin, I do not want even friends knowing that I have food and water… when the SHTF everyone will be turning on eachother, friend or not. If they know you have food and water and are prepared they will be at your door. Then you will have to be prepared to defend your self and family against “friends” that did not take the time to prepare.
The story of the ant and the grasshopper. If you make it, cook it, store it and pay for it, it is yours and your family. If they are too lazy or just don’t believe, that is not your concern. If you start sharing it, then more and more will come, and then you will have none. Do not think it is selfish, it is self protection.
I started prepping 2 years ago. From growing my own food to couponing and getting the products needed for survival. And I tell nobody except my daughter and husband how much, where and what we have. And the fair share laws only happen if the government and leaches can find the stash. But don’t worry they have enough preps for the cronies in power. The nah Sayers said the same thing when several natural disasters happened but the reason why there is such doubt is because most people don’t or have never lived through one where the shelves were empty. With the federal reserve printing money like its water, its a matter of time before another crisis like 2008 housing mess. Within 4 years my bet is we as a country are going to go through something much larger than the 2008 meltdown. The government cant take care of natural disaster victims in a timely manor in a relatively small area such as new jersey and those people went through hell just like Katrina victims. Fema is not equipped to handle a large scale Disaster. We have all say that. So my opinion is if you don’t care enough about yourself and your family, Keep living in the land of the free hand outs but don’t come knocking on my door.