Nathan Fillion Gets It Right on Zombie Preparedness

In an appearance on Jimmel Kimmel, Nathan Fillion reveals his concern for “zombie apocalypse preparedness.”  And unlike many who share that concern, Fillion does not focus exclusively on the material things you should bring (ammo, duct tape, and so forth).  Instead, he’s thinking about the team of people he wants with him after the collapse.  He’s taking notes about which of his friends have something useful to contribute, and observes that some of his friends have “no marketable skills in the zombie apocalypse.”

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Fillion is hitting upon a theme that comes up repeatedly in Economics of the Undead, particularly in James Dow’s chapter on “Packing for the Apocalypse.” Dow argues that the survival guides’ lists of stuff to bring are helpful enough for short-run survival, but long-run survival will depend on engaging in trade with other survivors. That means bringing the human capital (i.e., knowledge and skills) that will allow you produce the goods and services most in demand after the apocalypse. While Dow looks at it from the supply side (what skills do I have to offer others?), Fillion looks at it from the demand side (what skills do others have to offer me?). These are just two sides of the same coin, of course. Ultimately, the return to prosperity will depend on survivors joining communities that enable their members to engage in specialization, division of labor, and trade — a point also made in Brian Hollar’s chapter titled, “To Truck, Barter… and Eat Your Brains!!! Pursuing Prosperity in a Post-Productive World.”