The Future of Trade After SHTF

A few weeks ago I visited the Anderson County Jockey Lot for the first time. For those who do not know, the Jockey Lot is 65 acers of everything you can imagine for sale. It is a flea market on steroids. It is actually quite amazing.

As you walk around you see a variety of tables/booths set up. Some are businesses selling their products or services, the Jockey Lot makes a great temporary location, and others are individuals selling their yard sale items, collections and crafts.

As I wandered the isles I had a couple of thoughts relevant to after a SHTF scenario:

1) This is what trading and commerce could/would look like after a major crisis and/or economic collapse. Rather than heading to Walmart or Bilo people would come together in community trading areas like this to trade livestock and produce and all manner of items. There would be many of these types of trading areas that would pop up in each region. There would be need for these as gasoline for travel would be expensive or limited.

2) Return of bartering, in an economic collapse this is a guarantee but even in a short/medium term crisis cash availability would be looked at less as a trade medium. Of course that is after the immediate inflation that follows all crisis. When the cash is gone or even devalued that chicken or pig is worth its weight in gold. Or that particular skill set that you have, carpentry, blacksmithing, medical service etc., will also be an important trade commodity.

3) At some point after some recovery the community markets would come back to life but what about the big box house retailers? In some ways we as citizens have allowed them to suck the life out of our communities. Would we learn our lesson and keep local business local? we would certainly have to reevaluate how we as consumers managed our habits and how those habits contributed to any economic collapse.

It is interesting to me when I see something like the Jockey Lot and it allows me to take a step back into time...and also the possible future.