I've got to agree with benjammin. I think Western Society as a whole, and I include the U.S., Canada, almost all of Europe is not headed in a good direction. We're less capable of taking care of ourselves, expect government or others to do it for us, and are not good as a whole at paying our way. The U.S. still can, but other nations are not really capable of defending their interests with military action. The U.S. is becoming less prepared to do so mentally, although right now, our military is very, very capable, although stretched thin. The military people I've talked to basically look at our forces as the best trained they have ever been.

I don't think the system is going to fall apart, perhaps not even during my lifetime. However, the direction is bad. When and if a collapse comes, it may truly be global. The economy of the world is really interwined. Some nations provide services, know-how, without making any products. Some nations, such as China, provide the manufacturing. Some nations provide raw materials for production. Some cannot get things going well enough to get much beyond subsitence. Some fit into more than one category, liek the U.S. which exports lots of foods and services and imports lots of manufactured goods. If the markets collapse for the services, the markets for the manufactured goods also collapse, followed by the raw materials. I don't see a fast decline into a barter economy. But we depend on trade for most things. The order of a collapse, how it will happen, what will be needed to cause it, no real idea, although my inkling is that pandemic will be involved, if it happens anytime soon.

Pandemic is a tough thing to predict about how one can deal with it. The best scenario is to catch it, fight it with your immune system, and get over it. Easy to say, not easy to think you will be able to do so. People survived the black death, but it wiped out much of Europe.

Not seeing it in the immediate future, the question should not only be about preparing and how one does it, but how one prepares those who will follow us, especially your kids. EDIT: by no means do this mean I think we should not think about and prepare in case there is a big collapse. You never know when it might come, and one of the best ways to prepare your kids is to prepare yourself, as it rubs off. The guys I know who store food as a matter of course, usually learned it from their parents.