I don't share all his political views but much of the content is food for thought. I'll post more about this book later but at one point he brings up the idea of having a system for sharing items between neighbors. He used the example of one person owning a lawnmower and renting it out to various people.
I had this idea myself last fall when we were raking mountains of leaves out of the backyard. We have a leaf scooper thing that attaches to the lawnmower and drags leaves into piles. We also have a leaf mulcher. Our neighbors do not have one. They have a snowblower. We do not.
Hmmm. While I may not need everything my next door neighbor owns and he may not need everything I own, who's to say that someone a street over might not need a leaf mulcher. They in turn might have a turkey roaster that I might need only once every other year.
I wish there was a way to formally set up a system of bartering and borrowing.
My concern is that people wouldn't be on board with it. I recently saw a request for a special occasion outfit on a Facebook page. I offered the loan of a dress in the right size, with the stipulation that I wanted it back. The other person thanked me but said she was looking to buy instead. Personally, I would have jumped at the chance to rent (for just the pick up/return trip). I could get use out of it and then not have the job of disposing of it later. To each their own, though, and that's why I'm a little concerned this idea might not catch on.
However, I'm really inspired by the concept, and think I might be the person to give it a push and see where it goes. Maybe we wouldn't have to covet our neighbor's oxen if we could borrow them every now and then.
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