What exactly is irrational about a kid with 300k in debt and no job hoping that a collapse could lead to a real future for himself and/or his kids?
For the start.....everything. No matter how much you're in debt and without a job you're still immesurably better than after actual collapse of the society. Unless your plan really is to establish yourself as some kind of warlord with guns and have others serve you. Which is about as realistic as Mad Max is. There's literally nothing rational about it, not even as a fantasy unless you're 12 and don't understand how the world works and what would actually happen if the societes collapsed in some kind of post apocalyptic scenario.
As someone supporting a household with a cumulative 200k of debt, I know what the possibility of a chaotic new future feels like, believe me (and I AM privileged!) I'm specifically talking about the fantasy of blowing away armed marauders with a shotgun. We're on the edge, a job loss would be brutal to us, and I recognize that many have it even worse. I guess I'm pushing back against grim (and I believe largely baseless) cynicism about human nature.
[1]Mind you, I'm talking about the United States. Yemen, Libya, Syria, many other countries graced with the interference of the US and our allies are another subject.
Edited for formatting.
I moved to essentially a small coastal town to get off the street and back in housing. Being in housing is better than being homeless, but it's hardly been a cakewalk.
So I sometimes have escapist fantasies and it's common for me to fantasize about chucking it all and up and moving to a small coastal town. Then I remember I'm in a small coastal town and I'm not sure how to feel about that.
On the one hand, I guess I've won and I can be spared the expense and hassle of relocating again. On the other hand, there's something distinctly disturbing about achieving your escapist fantasy and then continuity to fantasize about escape, especially when the fantasy is to do exactly what you've already done that hasn't yet put a stop to your desire to escape your current life and all of its attendant problems.