Old & busted: depending on the gub'ment for law & order.
The new hotness: survivalism.

Faced with a multitude of threats - from global warming to housing crisis to a declining economy, and spurred on by what they saw happened during Hurricane Katrina (and even the movie "I Am Legend" with Will Smith), some people are turning on to good ol' survivalism:

They stockpile or grow food in case of a supply breakdown, or buy precious metals in case of economic collapse. Some try to take their houses off the electricity grid, or plan safe houses far away. The point is not to drop out of society, but to be prepared in case the future turns out like something out of “An Inconvenient Truth,” if not “Mad Max.”

“I’m not a gun-nut, camo-wearing skinhead. I don’t even hunt or fish,” said Bill Marcom, 53, a construction executive in Dallas.

Still, motivated by a belief that the credit crunch and a bursting housing bubble might spark widespread economic chaos — “the Greater Depression,” as he put it — Mr. Marcom began to take measures to prepare for the unknown over the last few years: buying old silver coins to use as currency; buying G.P.S. units, a satellite telephone and a hydroponic kit; and building a simple cabin in a remote West Texas desert.

“If all these planets line up and things do get really bad,” Mr. Marcom said, “those who have not prepared will be trapped in the city with thousands of other people needing food and propane and everything else.”

Here's an interesting NY Times article by Alex Williams: Link

Now excuse me while I stock my bomb shelter with ammo. You never know how soon those zombies will come ...