Part 2... "24"
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...

Some of the examples are a stretch. For years I have talked about "capability." People want a new car, I ask what is that capability costing you now? and how much will a new car coast you for the same capability? Entertainment? How much are you spending now for the capability(8 tracks, cassettes, DVD, CD, MP3's) what will the new system cost -- don't forget to include storage fees and disposal costs. People lease cars. Cost of capability,but no disposal cost. People rent homes! Someone still has to own things (to lease the service of out). Maybe the new model promotes sharing -- I sense "time share" and I'm thinking that model kinda ran it's course. Maybe I'm being dense, but how do you buy "as a service" phone capability w/o having some kind of physical phone? Many, many things we have always purchased "as a service" (phones, air travel for instance). Even real estate we only "own" it as long as we pay the mortgage to pay the rent on the money (and more importantly) and the taxes.
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)?

Wasn't that the point of ObamaCare -- removing control of your health care?

the truth of the matter is that over 50 percent of the American population will do nothing so the course will not be corrected except maybe you will try.

"ownership is the rudder of morality"
Without any ownership, where does morality go?

I've "err"ed a lot in my life especially when it comes to buying tools. Numbers mean little too me anymore, and have meant little most of my life. It has given me so much pleasure and peace of mind for myself, and my loved ones, and even my friends, all the projects I have done for them. When I need something I can usually go to the shop and get it.

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.

True...but I would argue that at least 50% of us could pull it off if we were truly motivated with the truth about the pickle we're in.

And that my friend...is a true American community...my neighborhood is very much like that. When I first lost my beloved job at DeWalt power tools in 2009, I did Handyman work to earn money until I found a steady job, glad I had the tools to do that.

Thank the Creators of stuff for the stuff they create...

I like to err on the side of ownership when the numbers are even close. Most people I know rent things and have other people do everything for them. They can't change their own oil in their car, let alone load and fire a rifle. It is truly a scary thought to consider what this country would become if self reliance were ever needed again.

An adaptation of an ole saying...once one has a drill... the more holes one needs, wants or finds to drill.
Laughing but true!

America is NOT what it used to be.
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"

Yes. It's up to each individual. I generally don't rent electronic equipment, for example, except for this one device I rarely use. If you do the math, even considering they calibrate and replace it when it wears out, it's cheaper to own frequently-used equipment.

I recently (last month) sold my CNC Spindle with a 5'x10' footprint because I moved and needed the space in my new 4 car garage that still somehow seems to be too full to get two cars into. This house didn't have a huge shop like the old one. Even though I only used the CNC on occasion I really miss it and am already in the market for a new smaller one, maybe only 3'x5' footprint. Now after my move I'm finding drill motors that I had even forgotten I still had. Only have found five so far.

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.

Good correction, money is NOT an investment. Many people do inadvisably use money as a store of value however.

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.

Chapter 1? Lets hear the next chapter and more grizzly disappointments...perhaps a sequel to 1984- A cowardly new world.

So if I need to drill a common hole in this ownershipless world, I would go to a social phone and call for social transportation to get to the social tool shed to get a social drill. It takes about 30 minutes for the social vehicle to arrive and another five to drive one and a 1/2 miles to the social shed. There I get in the social line and wait my social turn to talk to the social administrator. Unfortunately the only drills they have are either much too heavy or much to underpowered. And, the only drill bits they seem to have bore holes into two foot steal walls or are designed for nothing stronger than balsa wood.
Big waste of time and no hole drilled today...

The need for tools and devices to make life more efficient and satisfying will always be with us. We also harbor unquenchable desire for items which serve no apparent goal-related purposes...like art objects. Sometimes we inexplicably acquire objects which are seemingly pure expenses, offering no discernible benefits, like pets for example. The forms of the objects we desire change through time, as do our specializations of labor. So although we don't own tube radios to listen to our favorite stations, we now own iPhones or electronic devices like computers to tune in; to get from A to B, it could end up most will better spend their money renting rides, but they will spend the difference on some other items they desire, which they perceive will make their lives better.
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.

Excellent defense! You win...case dismissed.

"I would argue that a drill is worth much more than an "investment" such as fiat currency or stock in a company. "
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.

I don't know, the whole article had the feel of John Lenin's "Imagine", which even he did not believe at his end. I have multiple PCs, all different OS, because, some ability gets lost with each new OS, so you can go back and do what you want to do. I have books now out of print, tools left form relatives, not all available. When one depends on "service providers", sometimes they don't have what your want, or decide to no longer supply. Yeah, it is a cause of clutter, but what joy when you can do what somebody says is not possible. What joy when I climb into MY Camaro, not some service ride. We are bonded. I know Japan rents pets, but I want no part of that either.Can anyone forget "Gone With the Wind", and ow the land was the thing from which they drew strength? Now the UN says we should not own land, but live where they put us, with government control. They rprovide the choices of high rises, at a great service cost to us - and no freedom. When I sit on my deck, looking at my yard, I can pull out my MP2 player and lsiten to my late dad play his big band music on his sax. No service can smurpass that!

Scary isn't it? I have always believed in self reliance. I do not ever want to be in a position of having to rely on another person for anything. That is the reason I own a truck, and that it is 4WD, and I have guns and ammo, and tools for pretty much everything, and many other stocks of self sufficiency items.

Congratulations. And I'm not being sarcastic.
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.

Seems to be a cycle, however, if any civilization could override that cycle...it's America for which it stands.

Owning a drill gives you more than the ability to drill a hole. It helps you create and build on an efficient scale that was unheard of a couple of centuries ago. Tools don't give you more free time, you still have to work to produce, you can simply produce more. Some people own things to own things, those people fail to see the potential in things and use them.

The future generations will be confronted with rebellion all over the USA. If you look at how things work in all of the other countries that populate the world the bulk live in poverty because that is all they have know throughout their history but in the USA that has not been the case for its existence. Things have until now gotten better for each generation and now that is no longer happening. When all does deteriorate which is in the process of happening people will have nothing and the warring will then begin until they run out of bullets and we that is humanity will have entered the dark ages again only this time things will not rebound. You can thank those who we have elected to run the govern for us.