Ownership or Access? An Introduction

Recently, I heard a podcast that addressed the same issue I’ve been thinking about since roughly 2008.  The idea of access versus ownership.  The sharing economy versus the regular economy.

During the crisis I remember assuring people something good would come out of it.  I would quote the famous line ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’ or something similar.  Pleasantly, I was proved right by the beginning of the sharing economy.  Or perhaps it might better be called the reinvention of the sharing economy as it has been around for millenia.  Now we just have the added convenience of using smartphones for much of it.

It’s certainly more accepted among younger generations than older generations.  For older generations it’s seen as foreign and weird, and understandably so.  After World War II home ownership was a possibility for people like never before and became something desirous in the eyes of the middle class.  The same goes for owning a new car.

However, I believe that’s starting to change.  Or at least is on the margins and trying its hardest to break into the mainstream.  There are most assuredly downsides to it; how much Uber drivers actually make versus what the company would have you believe for instance.  In my opinion however the benefits far outweigh the costs.