In all seriousness, what do you think the world would look like if tomorrow everyone decided to become a vagabond?

[Clem]

And I mean everyone, even The Man. Just a thought experiment, not to be used as an argument against the lifestyle. What would happen in the first 24 hours, month, year, decade, and century?

 

[BelleBottoms]

Images from tv and movies come to mind - of the Kurdish peoples of Iraq/ Kuwait, of caravan camps in the Middle East and United Kingdom, of people walking around in the middle of nowhere in Africa.

I think it would last for exactly as long as the circumstances that forced the upheaval, then immediately begin to settle. Like a jar full of water and sediment: as soon as you stop shaking, the pebbles will lay still on the bottom.

It's a hard scenario to picture, because there has never been a time in human history when -globally- people just up and move all at once. Settling is natural. Movement is usually by necessity. Even in a culture that honors the necessity of movement (due to climate or hunting migrations) there is long term settlment bound into the lifestyle. The need to stop is equal to the need to go.

It's fun though, to picture a caravan of limousines circling for the night to secure their wealthy travelers.

 

[sub lumpen filth]

It would be a complete disaster.

 

[Coywolf]

It's like the "idea" of "perfect anarchy".
Not really sure it would last. Like the first post states.

Someone would bring to capitalize.....unfortunately.

 

[croc]

If everyone was traveling nothing would be running, no services or businesses. People would go crazy robbing every store, stealing busses and who knows what other vehicles. With no production of goods, people would kill each other over the ones left.
I'd give it a month tops before more of the population is dead than not.
Most humans are reliant on the structure of society, without it they'd go ape shit. Especially those with kids to feed n care for, primal instincts for survival at any cost kick in.

 

[MolotovMocktail]

Most humans are reliant on the structure of society, without it they'd go ape shit. Especially those with kids to feed n care for, primal instincts for survival at any cost kick in.

I think this is an important point and would argue that vagabonds (at least the kind that are present on StP) are as reliant, if not more reliant, on society as other people are. If nobody is producing gasoline, how are you gonna hitchhike? If nobody is working for the railroad, how are you gonna hop freight? If nobody is working in food production, how will there be enough food waste for you to dumpster dive?

It's an interesting question to ponder what would happen if everyone started traveling but I agree the answer is that is that it would get violent and ugly real quick.

 

[Maestro]

Sky scrapers would colapse (metaphorically). It would be like abandonned cities you see then "we" would start squatting in them cause no one would be paying rent. Im not saying it would be good, but it certainly would change everything.

The native american lifestyle is somewhat similar or anyone living off the land. It basically would be time travel back to before we were all wage slaves working for the consumerism lifestyle people live now.

I belive humans arent made to do 1 job everyday. This forces us to only have 1 skill and creates need for others with other skills that leads to where we are now. Dependant on $$ so we can pay someone els to help us. I wish i lived in the barter system where people taught u how to do it yourself rather then not so they continue to profit off it.

 

[sub lumpen filth]

People have to go to work for the world to run properly. "Anarchy" or not..... I really hope yall's conception of Anarchy is not this juvenile. Traveling is a privilage.... it is not political.

 

[Shwhiskey Gumimaci]

Honestly the only reason we can sustain ourselves in this lifestyle is because theres "normal people". Without people with jobs things like train hopping and hitch hiking would definitely take a hard hit, if not altogether cease. I think our lives would become a lot harder

 

[roughdraft]

there'd be a lot of death and disease

there'd be a minority of people who thrived by reverting to hunter/gatherer or just hunkering down and growing food

i seriously think we'd see a 90% reduction in people globally, within half of a year

just my initial thoughts