The Era of Ownership Is Ending
I think this trend will lead to a world without Humans, a world without skill, respect or appreciation and a world without responsibility.
With everything digital and nothing physical...one flick of natures wrath and it's all gone and no one will ever know your were here.
With everything digital and nothing physical...one flick of natures wrath and it's all gone and no one will ever know your were here.
You have to trade something to get something. You can't get a car ride for free, you can't have your cake and eat it too. You need money. Money is the distillation of trade. The fact of digital money does not make purchasing physical items with it impossible, exhibit A is: Amazon.com.
This article follows a familiar materialist fallacy. In the same way that materialists deny consciousness because it has no "substance" i.e. because it is not physical, the "think tank" denies ownership because that concept to them has no physicality. None, that is, except, "stuff" e.g. trash. I am certain that most of us will refuse to give up our property because someone else has terrible housekeeping habits! The article argues that ownership makes people lazy. No. Laziness just makes people poor owners. A junk heap is just a junk heap until someone has the idea to use that heap to build something better.
In summary, the article combines a socialist premise of non-ownership - which derives from non-consciousness, which derives from materialism - with the digital age in a kind of magic stew of circular reasoning. The scariest part of the article is the lack of consistent logic coming from - of all places - a "think tank".
I agree with Carl on the phrase "world without humans". That is, only in a world with human beings is non-ownership possible. This is just another anti-human viewpoint coming from people with degrees who are paid to think up ways to "blow" people's minds e.g. make contradictory statements.
From another post, this article is Backward thinking from a perceived misunderstood consequence.
Interesting point: Think Tanks, by nature are a collective thinking the exact same things...no new or integrated information or knowledge.
A mentor once suggested, we call an integrated group or community be called: A meeting of the Minds in a mastery of each one's mind in a "Master Mind Session" each mind bringing additional knowledge, each his own puzzle piece to the whole.
I want to add that unearned credit may also lead to the abandonment (and end) of property as we knew it. Look for the Feds to raise interest rates three times this year :D
Oh, by the way...we should probably, in an effort to be as accurate as possible call the collective an: "Antilectual" ponzi scheme"...
I frequently drive to the office in downtown Sacramento, park in the company's over-subscribed parking lot, but then take an Uber around downtown if I need to go somewhere because I don't want to give up my parking spot.
At home in the hills, I rarely use it, only too or from the airport and the trip is longer than the cost to park there, or it can be handy to get some lunch if I'm waiting for the truck to get an oil change or something. And I want to say that I'm pretty much the only one in my social group that has even used Uber.
I also do not like the idea of drive by wire systems. You have no control when something goes wrong. Steering, breaks and acceleration all should be direct connect mechanical.
string. And now, since you mentioned it, it's going
round and round in my head! Imagine that!!!!
Good to hear from you buddy.
(Full disclosure: I have been both a renter and an owner numerous times. Currently I am an owner, but I may choose to become a renter again someday.)
For me? I prefer something to call my very own.
Now, in outerspace? or in a small colony on another planet with difficult to get resources? Yea, it kinda has to work that way but not here on earth.
*did not account for a willful strategy.
Thanks, but I want local control and ownership of my data and my tooling. I want the ability to get things done irrespective of anyone else. I don't want to be locked into one giant corporation's method of doing things and paying for the privilege!
1. Less cost in production, in that digital material is way cheaper than hard copy.
2. For transportation, it dovetails into the incessant push to crowd people into smaller areas, so as to minimize cost of services associated, less power transmission, less movement needed to go to work, school, etc.
3. It imposes a more easily controlled framework of support on people, and hence, control of people themselves. It may be a conspiracy theory, but it has appeared that the political monster of both sides has always been pushing for a greater control over the masses. If they do not do what is desired, then services get cut (oops, power failure), or restrictions put in place ( nope, no cars for you).
It is the antithesis of freedom and personal responsibility, in that all your needs are met by the "system", and so you are dependent on the system and whoever is running it.
Nope, I will buy my DVDs, and not need Netflix. I record any books or music, I try to limit my exposure to "the system" as much as possible, and depend on my own resources. My responsibility is to know my needs, not have someone else tell me what they are (or what they say they are).
I think people like to own things. I wish they liked to own more things. If people thought it through they would own their retirement funds, rather than buy "as a service" Social Security." Private property is the backbone of the free market, capitalist system! We tend to take better care of what we own (I give you public housing). So far the latest "revolution" (communication) has be evolving so fast it has made sense not to "own" it. If it ever slows down, ownership will make more sense. The on demand (as a service) model is so vulnerable to outside forces (EMP events; infrastructure failure etc.) that one good failure and many people will re-think netflix and Uber. If I drop my fire in the toilet, what happens to the books I have "bought" (but haven't really bought)?
We do have to consider what is most probable in the near future when dealing with anything electronic. We will be most vulnerable over the next 30 to 70 years and it's not your fault but it Is the fault of those that make this stuff for not looking into the future and preparing for the worst.
Without any ownership, where does morality go?
Name is, Jim Erlach. I don't mind being known.
(Note: the thing everyone owns is themselves)
Big waste of time and no hole drilled today...
Right now, we're planning to hammer in some social nails. My wife and daughter have been filling out forms to have a social hammer ready for pickup... and people that are working for me are standing around doing nothing. I'm In an ownership-less world, and this is the longest day of my life...
That was a mistake I made with my first book...didn't include a physical copy but even still...I sold 130,000 down loads, a lot more than I expected.
I think the utopian undercurrent of the Futurism article is indicative of a writer who has convinced himself that consumerism is somehow immoral. Standard leftist baloney. Consumerism is the driving force of civilized societies. Perhaps the a hatred of the producers, which so many socialists seem to harbor, leads to the correlating bias against consumerism...as if convincing ourselves to not desire to own "things" will stop the evil producers from making them, and to stop ostensibly ruining the planet.
we have to many of the people that have come from the third world taking up residence and who is to blame for that "the government of the USA"
Another aspect that hasn't been touched on here is combining non-ownership with robots. The goal of those who push for these technologies is to replace the human being and the attendant wages, benefits, etc., with systems that can operate 24/7 at a fraction of the cost. They even now are experimenting with a robot that flips burgers! Amazon is using drones to make deliveries!
So we rent, not own, and we have no job, or very limited options for work. Where then do we get the money to rent anything?
And even if by some miracle we have the funds to rent stuff, from whom will we rent? My guess is Amazon, Google, General Motors and other global companies who by virtue of their reach will own and control everything.
No thanks!! If we believe in the sanctity of the individual we MUST fight such trends tooth and nail.
The house? I had saved $35,000 for the down payment and ended up losing it all to a divorce.
I was not even the one who was cheating.
Kids being involved makes a difference.
Been renting ever since. Nobody's taking squat away from me again unless it's burglars when me dino the NRA qualified shooter ain't home.
Someone into real estate once asked me, "Don't YOU want to leave SOMETHING behind?"
I thought of that house I lost. I can drive by it any time I want just a few blocks from where I now sit. Then I said, "You can't take it with you."
He decided to talk to someone else in the room that was an advanced training class for the the Alabama Department of Corrections.
Think he sidelined house flipping or something like that.
I like your saying though...never heard that one before.
In my new location, out in the sticks, I found a retiree coffee group that meets at 8:00 and 15:00 every day at the local Subway Sandwich shop. They are retired, auto worker, pipeline workers, tires sales, school teachers/principal, police, a fireman, woodworker, machinist, tile man, financial advisor, retired military, even a politician, etc.. Between us I would guess we have every tool and skill possible, oh yes , even a veterinarian. I just loaned a guy some stone chisels to knock some brick off a fireplace, and I have used his pickup truck (with the keys always stored on the visor) to haul some plywood. One guy does small engine repair to which I donated my Stihl chainsaw and chain grinder to as I (at my age) don't wish to ever use it ever again. He's (younger than me) volunteered to do any cutting for me if I need it. We've almost got a community tool program going here, it's great. Even free use of a backhoe, small dozer, powered dump trailer, etc. I haven’t even used my pressure washer in 2 years. Nah, I don't plan on buying tools anymore. Now we just need a community shop area to store all our stuff. Then I'll be able to get my two vehicles and two boats in my garage, at least in the winter. We also trade meat (almost all of these guys hunt); deer, moose, elk, fish, even pig, fresh, smoked, and dried. I think I’ll even donate my smoker if someone else will at least store it. Old school will always be around at least as long as I am alive. Old school between my friends seems to come with a do-it-yourself attitude.
Thank the Creators of stuff for the stuff they create...
You cannot invest in currency for the reasons you say. Currency is a medium of exchange, not a store of value.
Imagine I get my car fixed at a shop. The shop owns drills that cost $300 new and will be worth $0 after three year's use; they lose $8/mo value. Say they earn $300 fixing my car. If they put the money under the mattress, it will lose $0.75 or so a month in value. So there's nothing alarmist at all about not storing value there. Say the shop earns $50k/yr after all expenses including the market value of labor of any owners who make work there. So it's worth roughly $500k b/c it gives off a steady stream of $50k per year. In calculating the company's value, you might add in the value of the drills and other equipment, but it's probably small next to the value of having a system that generates a profit. Maybe five (5) shareholders own it with stock worth $100k per person.
The value of the shop isn't less because it's divided into share of stock in a company. The company's drills and parts continue to have just salvage value, and they depreciate over time. The company's value comes from having a proven system of providing something that customers are willing to pay for that leads to profit, and it will go up or down depending on that. The money they get from customers and that they use to pay their suppliers depreciates a few percent per year, fast, although not as fast as equipment, so they don't want to hold on to piles of money or equipment. Equipment is for getting a job done, and money is for trading for other things of value.
We are talking about an individual owning a drill, not a business. Nobody would question the logic in a business owning a drill. The difference for an individual, is that the drill does not depreciate in the hands of an individual like it does in a business application. An individual is, generally speaking, going to take better care of the drill and not wear it out because of it's limited use. It will still have value many years from now. An individual should weigh many things before buying a drill. If there is near zero chance that more than one hole will ever need to be drilled, then buying a drill makes little sense. I think the point of this article is looking at a situation where when there is a near break even point, people are choosing to rent a drill or contract the services for a driller as opposed to buying their own drill. If hiring a hole to be drilled costs $10, and I know that over time I will need 10 holes drilled, then I can either spend $100 to have someone drill my holes, or I can buy a drill for $100 and drill my own. Most people nowadays will pay someone $100 to drill their holes. You now have no drill and no skill. If the off chance you ever need another hole drilled, then you are now officially in the red, not to mention you do not have a drill to barter with in the impending zombie apocalypse.
Laughing but true!
I would not buy a bulldozer just to push some dirt around one time, but I would by an air driven stapler for one stupid simple little project rather than rent one or even borrow one. A secret, I used to only buy Porter-Cable, Milwaukee, Delta, etc. (excellent commercial tools, then stupid me sold my P-C Stapler before my big move because I would never again need it), but now I buy certain things I really don't need very much anymore from Harbor Freight, cheaper than any rental. I still can't believe how they can make a stapler/nailer combo for around $12, it's just impossible, and I really don't care either. At my age it will outlast me as long as I don't leave it laying outside in the snow. Perhaps after the government puts tariffs on the cheap stuff things will change, but then again I could care less, I'm in the checkout column myself. I find it interesting how our attitude also changes drastically with age. Anyone need a drill motor, I've got at least five, all the way from plastic battery junk up to an all metal Milwaukee that could actually twist your arm off if you get the bit jammed. Sorry to say, but I actually know that from personal experience, and it hurt like hell.
This was cogently explained by Jane Jacobs in The Economy of Cities. The craft industry that made brass fittings for horse tack (harnesses, etc.) shifted to make brass fittings for machineries. I point out that horses are still big business, especially as they are luxury items for the rich. We do not need as many blacksmiths and farriers but those we have earn good wages.
In 600 BCE cows were money; every city was a kingdom; and priests explained the will of the gods. Then coins were invented; democracies were invented; philosophy was invented -- all of them in the same revolution c. 550 BCE. But we still have kings and priests - and you can trade cows for wheat in the commodities exchanges in quantities never dreamed of in 600 BCE.
I agree that in the future ownership of things will change. It is not the end of ownership.
In closing, I point out that in ancient times farmers owned their land. A farmer who did not was not legally free or legally a citizen who could vote. But in the mercantile age, traders rented their homes. They did not actually own the goods they bought and sold, but made their money by transferring the goods to efficient markets. The mercantile revolution continues...
I don't think "the creation of value that never existed prior" survives within the individual.
We are Not going to run out of resources, we will invent or create new resources. Perhaps Printing via vibrational frequencies someday...out of thin air, so to speak...the same way living matter is created quantumly.
BTW people always want to scare us into the scenario of scarcities . I say...... well someone once said necessity is the mother of invention.
Freedom from the controlling maggots granted by our constitution allowed America to revolutionize the Industrial Age, aviation , manufacturing, the technology, the energy ,agriculture and medicine enabling the world to sustain an incredible population. Yet The maggots have clawed their way back to weaken our constitution spy and control the people whom they are supposed to represent and work for. High time for another revolution.
Better yet...lets create robots to occupy those seats with the prime law being our constitution the way it was intended.
Problem solved...Period!