To not use and share the things we buy and learn is often wasteful. How we behave and conduct ourselves in sharing and exchanging things and ideas is paramount to most ventures, otherwise they fail.
We buy a number of things that we do not use (or underutilise) and they are often left in attics, basements, backyards and ultimately in landfills, deserted lots or even the oceans. If materials were made to last, to be used, easily repaired and finally recycled there would be many overall benefits.
We have skills and knowledge that others could benefit from and they are not shared or shared enough. If we shared these skills and experiences, this might help the prosperity of others and also provide intrinsic benefit to the ones providing the service - pay it forward philosophies come to mind. Examples include helpful you tube videos and a recent example would be showing someone how to set up a cryptocurrency wallet.
I believe that if we had a more sharing based economy, which was driven from the bottom up we could decrease our costs, help reduce waste, save time and help promote a greater sense of community.
Why do we consume so much?
Habit.
Image.
Sure, we buy many things that need to be consumed and used such as food, fuel, building materials, clothes, and so on, but there are many things that we have that are not used and are underutilized such as tools, sporting equipment, books, etc. We are bombarded with advertisements everywhere, on the internet, TV, radio, billboards; we are persuaded to buy, buy and buy - the economy depends on it.
Also, part of the human psyche is based on image and the need to feel as part of a group or a socio-economic class; we fell compelled to buy a certain house, car, truck, wear certain clothes – this drives all of us to a certain extent at different stages of our lives and can be a primary driver for many.
How much food and material is wasted? At what point does the cost of maintaining image make us unhappy?
Benefits of Sharing: Developing Communities and Costs per Use
Depending on where you live and the situation, a community may be thriving or the people in the community may be living in their own bubbles, contained within fences, behind doors, unaware of many of the members of their community. Regardless of where our communities fit within this spectrum, there may be opportunities for increased sharing and increased prosperity and benefits, as opportunities to meet people are increased, more ideas are shared and a sense of community is deepened.
A more sharing based economy could help reduce overall, cradle-to-grave costs per use. Within the overall economy, instead of simply price driving most markets, overall costs per use would drive markets, especially in light of combining utility with the other holistic benefits including developing communities and providing more sane environmental stewardship.
Challenges
In order for a more sharing based economy to take place, people will simply need to cooperate more. Sharing involves trust and this needs to be considered otherwise we have delinquent individuals who abuse the system, e.g. return materials not in the shape they were received or have IOUs that are not paid. These challenges and other challenges need to be considered.
Possible Solutions
We would need a means to hold each other accountable and to enable the change – perhaps block chain technologies could help. Let’s say there is a block chain technology where coins are earned through materials shared and services rendered, where coins are exchanged when materials are returned and the service was received. Reputation could be built into the fabric, similar to steem. Simple contracts could be exchanged to help facilitate this exchange.
At present, this is a mere idea and I have not vetted the details. I am sure there are better ideas out there or even others comments could help develop this idea.
Conclusion
In the end, such an idea as a more sharing economy could help complement the current economy, help in times of increased unemployment, exchange value instead of having it remain latent and also, perhaps it can bring our communities a little closer together, one locality at a time.
