2 min read

You'll Own Nothing

You'll Own Nothing

I'm old enough to remember 10 years ago when the World Economic Forum or WEF published an article (since removed from their website but you can read the original article here) that was titled "Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better". There was some initial uproar about it and then it mostly got memory holed.

10 years on and I rent my music from Spotify. I stream sports, movies and TV shows from a subscription when I watch something online. I essentially rent my phone even if it is financed at 0% interest. Software I used to purchase a license for and own for years are almost all exclusively subscriptions now. It makes me opine for the days of cassette tapes and CD's, buying a DVD and loading a DVD into my computer(!) to install software.

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I'm going to buy a CD of Boxer by The National - one of my favorite albums - and listen to it as the band intended, in the CD player of my 2007 Toyota Avalon that I finally swapped the motor on (only took me a year!). And when it skips I'm going to be happy about it!

Does it feel like everything just gets more expensive while getting worse? Well, you're not wrong based on my lived experience. This video pretty much encapsulates everything I want to say on this subject and is worth the time. If there is one video from this post that you watch make it the one below. I'm not generally a fan of profanity. But the word "ensh*tification" is now - liberally - used in my head when I buy a crappy part that fails quickly or a product that is complete garbage.

Certainly Not a Home

Not a Car Either

Just watch 2 minutes of this one (linked to the exact section of the video) and keep in mind they don't want you owning a car or driving anywhere. Make sense now?

Want to start your car without the approval of a corporate bureaucrat? Sorry, they get to control that. Oh, and they get to know where your car is at all times. Fun!

Want to download and run your own software on computer hardware you own. You can for now, but they are trying to stop that too. They still have 4 years after all.

If you do own a home, well, they'll just take it back!

Own a tractor? Not really, think of it more like a rental.

Want a car that can actually be fixed and will run for years with basic maintenance? You'll want an older one. This has proven out for me. All our cars are 2012 or older and they (generally) run great with minimal maintenance. Even the Land Rover LR4 has been good to us! If I were buying any vehicle I'd look for something older than 2019.

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