𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗢𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗰 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗹
I’ve been having a lot of conversations lately about how 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱. I wanted to expand on this:
At the heart of a strong society is 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 - the belief that what we do matters. But as economic insecurity grows and loneliness increases, people feel powerless. If we want to reverse that, we need to help more people own something: a home, a stake in their workplace, a piece of their community. Ownership isn’t just about financial security; it’s about 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 to take control of their futures and invest in the world they want to build.
𝟭. 𝗢𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀
• The more agency people have in their economic lives, the more likely they are to step up in civic life.
• Employee-owners, homeowners, and small business owners are often more likely to vote, engage locally, and take on leadership roles. That's because 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.
𝟮. 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 (𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮)
• Financial stress isolates people, but the reverse is also true - weak social networks make economic struggles harder.
• Think about it: Who do you turn to for childcare in a pinch? When you’re between jobs? Without support systems, friends, family, neighbors, it’s harder to get ahead.
• Expanding ownership 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵; 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. It gives people reasons to connect and support each other.
𝟯. 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗢𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁
• Community-based ownership models, employee-owned businesses, resident-owned communities (ROCs), land trusts, etc., 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀.
• When people have a say in their workplaces or housing, they practice the very skills that make society work: collaboration, compromise, and collective problem-solving.
𝟱. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻?
• Sahil Bloom recently talked about this on Derek Thompson’s podcast, breaking wealth into five categories: financial, social, physical, and more.
• True wealth isn’t just money, it’s security, relationships, and control over your life. That’s why expanding ownership matters - 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗻𝗲.
𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
If we want to rebuild our civic life and tackle loneliness, we have to address the material conditions that keep people disengaged. Expanding ownership is one of the best ways to do that.
Would love to hear your thoughts - do you see these connections in your work?
