A “New” economic model – rentalism/zipcar capitalism

Bruce Nussbaum is onto something he terms ZipCar Capitalism at BusinessWeek. He is…

“…off to the World Economic Forum conference in Dubai on Tuesday night after I vote. Some 700 folks, including Jeff Jarvis at Buzzmachine, are going to brainstorm about making post-crisis world a much better place. I spent time on the subway this morning thinking about what a new economic model might look like and what might have any chance of succeeding and came up with ZipCar Capitalism. Treehugger calls it Rentalism but that doesn’t ring well in my ears. Actually it’s Tamara Giltsoff in Treehugger who did the fantastic article.”

I think it is a great idea, but I wonder if it is “new”. The use of the Commons, of communities banding together to accomplish something, and many more cooperative ideas, aren’t necessarily new. But it may be a new time to revisit these ideas. More sharing and cooperation wouldn’t be a bad way to tackle the many economic and environmental issues we face.

One thought on “A “New” economic model – rentalism/zipcar capitalism”

  1. Sharing is mankind’s oldest — and most potent — technology. And sharing is the raison d’etre of government, at all levels, facilitating us sharing that which we have in common, infrastructure (social, cultural, as well as physical), if you will.

    Yes, we need to stop when we think, “I need that,” and consider borrowing, renting, or even sharing in the simultaneous sense.

    I started Ottawa’s carsharing business, and I have many other things in mind that could be shared, like tools and ladders.

    Chris Bradshaw
    Ottawa

Comments are closed.