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The Isle of Eigg and the Possibilities of Building a New Economy

posted by Fnord666 on Sunday May 31 2020, @12:26AM   Printer-friendly
from the Eiggemplary dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Al Jazeera:

In 1997, the inhabitants of the tiny Hebridean Isle of Eigg finally succeeded in taking collective control of their island. Tensions had been running high for years: everything from the islanders' homes to their jobs to their electricity supply depended on the whims of the wealthy businessman who owned it. Sick of putting up with crumbling buildings while he took rich friends for picnics and jaunts in his Rolls Royce, they launched what today would be called a crowdfunder, and eventually raised enough money to buy him out.

[...] Today, Eigg is thriving. A community housing association has refurbished the islanders' homes and made rents more affordable. The island is 95 percent powered by community-owned renewables, giving islanders 24-hour electricity for the first time. The landscape, previously scarred by damaging spruce tree plantations, has been restored. There is even a community-owned broadband network. Decisions about the island's future are made democratically by the trust that owns it on behalf of all who live there.

Can collective ownership work in the rest of the UK?

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 31 2020, @05:53PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 31 2020, @05:53PM (#1001438)

    "some" is OK. it is just that the owner or executive suite or investors is in charge of defining that "some". and human nature being what it is, their "some" will be much greater than the rest's "some". They have lots of good-sounding rationalizations for that and keeping it that way, also. like, "executive salaries account for only 1% of corporate revenue while employee health care costs 20%". and we eat up that false equivalence and say, give me more, sir!