A Svalbard in every home

Longtime readers of The Duck of Minerva are surely familiar with Dan Nexon’s important work on Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago that hosts the Doomsday Global Seed Vault. Located on the island of Spitzbergen, the vault — which is built into the side of a sandstone mountain — is intended to be a hedge against the destruction of genebanks and crop diversity in politically, militarily or environmentally vulnerable parts of the world. Alternately, as Nexon warns, the vault will provide the foundation for Svalbardian world domination.

In any event, as I was listening the other day to — no shit — Glenn Beck’s radio program, I overheard an advertisement for this project, whose proprietors urge us to invest in seeds as preparation for . . . well, you know . . .

You don’t have to be an Old Testament prophet to see what’s going on all around us. A belligerent lower class demanding handouts. A rapidly diminishing middle class crippled by police state bureaucracy. An aloof, ruling elite that has introduced us to an emerging totalitarianism which seeks control over every aspect of our lives.

I guess we should credit the fellow for not recommending that everyone make idiotic signs and gather at city hall to protest higher marginal tax rates on the wealthiest income brackets. But these folks are urging people to buy hundreds of dollars worth of seeds and bury them in the backyard so that when liberal fascists have destroyed the world in 20-70 years — one hopes sooner, of course — today’s John Galts can laugh at the rest of us while gobbling Calypso bean chili, eggplant parmigiana, carrot juice and boule d’or melon. It’s a weird business model, but you can’t argue that these folks haven’t pegged their audience.