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?
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Sunday May 31 2020, @11:28PM (1 child)
You forgot the other side of the coin - that everything everyone else in that community (including you) produces is partly yours.
Big difference.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday June 02 2020, @12:35AM
Sorry, that's not the other side of the coin. The other side is the tragedy of the commons [wikipedia.org]. What you can use up before someone else gets to it is yours.