Let Them Have the Cities: Inflation, Collapse, and Retreat in the Postwar Survivalist West.

This article examines the origins and intellectual development of the American survivalist movement, tracing its roots from the 1950s "retreaters" who sought rural self-sufficiency amid fears of economic collapse, nuclear war, and urban chaos, through its transformation into the survivalist subculture of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Central to this evolution was widespread economic anxiety, particularly inflation and the abandonment of the gold standard, which fueled a libertarian, anti-statist ethos emphasizing individual preparedness and decentralized rural communities. Key figures such as Gary North, Kurt Saxon, and Mel Tappan shaped survivalist philosophy and practice through newsletters and literature, advocating for strategic retreats to small towns rather than isolated homesteads, and blending influences from Ayn Rand’s novel *Atlas Shrugged*, countercultural experiments, and paramilitary preparedness. The movement was predominantly concentrated in the Western United States, where distrust of federal authority, geographic factors, and demographic characteristics fostered a distinct "Survivalist West." The article situates survivalism as a complex cultural phenomenon that intersects with but remains distinct from radical right extremism, environmental back-to-the-land trends, and broader American anti-urban traditions.