Although the terms Survivalist vs Prepper are often used interchangeably in literature and online forums, there exist some subtle differences between these two groups of people. For example while a Survivalist operates with the notion that the society will “collapse” in the future a Prepper is a person who simply takes it upon himself to live better going forward. Sounds a bit ambiguous? Let’s break it down further for you.
What are the similarities?
For starters, both Survivalists and Preppers have an inborn desire to live and to survive trying times. They both have something called tenacity. Both groups are made up of people who don’t give in to pressure easily or become defeated quickly.
Another character shared by Survivalists and Preppers is that they both prepare for future (often unpredicted) events. Both have a positive mental attitude towards conquering obstacles when times get tough. As such, the both hold a strong belief that with the right mental outlook and training, no situation is stronger than they can withstand.
Both groups of people are true to the fact that “We’re all gonna die someday anyway” and this makes them extremely resilient when encountering challenges that would shake an ordinary men. Survivalists and Preppers earnestly believe that no challenge is too hard to tackle with proper determination, dedication and focus.
Yet another similarity between these two groups of people is that they both take steps to mitigate the long-lasting effects of a severe impact on their world. This is done by stocking items that are critical for their continued well-being. Items like – water, food and shelter.
What are the differences?
There are quite a couple of differences that arise when discussing Survivalist vs Prepper. For instance, while a Survivalist focuses spends the bulk of his time mastering woodsmen skills with little focus on stocking up future supplies.
In the same vein, whereas Survivalists believe that the society will one day collapse, Preppers try to improve their current quality of life as much as possible not worrying if the society is going to collapse or not.
The biggest difference between these two groups is in the mindsets which the members operate. For instance, while Preppers just prepare to cope with the challenging situations of the world, Survivalist believe in bad things to come. They envision a different world from the one we live in today. In other words, they prepare for the unknown and pay little attention to the known.
It’s little surprise you’ll find Survivalist training hard in tough environment. They believe in worst-case scenarios. They like predicting oncoming disaster. Interestingly, they don’t seem to share a common agreement on what that disaster will actually be. For instance some Survivalists operate on the notion that society will isolate them some day. Others believe that the world is going to erupt into war and therefore train to cope with war.
Preppers are very family oriented individuals. They find it important to sacrifice today’s leisure so they can live in a better future. They simply plan to sustain their future needs better.
The debate pitting Survivalist Vs Prepper goes on and on. No group is superior to the other. Both have their pros as well as cons. One only needs to identify with the group that suits their character and mindset.