3 ms·

A society where only a select few own property? I believe Europe tried that for 100's of years. I doubt you'd find many people willing to go back to serfdom.

davemp 9y ago
Also nomadic societies haven't faired too well either.
nostrademons 9y ago
I didn't say that - AirBnB's model is agnostic about who actually owns the property, since as far as the platform is concerned, you can AirBnB out a property that you're renting. (The landlord might not like it, but that's for you and the landlord to work out.) Many people are both hosts and guests on AirBnB: they own one or a few properties that they rent out for income, and they use the income to live where they really want to live, in other people's AirBnBs. The idea of mainstream property ownership is dying in America for different reasons, notably easy access to credit and poor financial education of the masses. What AirBnB offers is a decoupling of "location" and "residency". The post-war dream was the idea that you'd put down roots at the place where you are physically located: you would think of yourself as a resident and a citizen of the municipality and nation whose borders encompassed your home, you would have a home that you would live in for many years and make improvements to for the long term, and you'd put down deep social ties with the people closest to you. The post-millenial dream, for many people, is that you would live anywhere that strikes your fancy, you would meet lots of interesting strangers who would become your friends, and you would have a lot of interesting experiences rather than just the same monotonous daily life. AirBnB is tapping into the post-millenial dream; they don't exist in a vacuum, they exist because a large number of people actually want the world to be that way.
wbl 9y ago
There is this thing called a stock market.
- chillwaves 9y ago
  And? You'll have to elaborate.
  - wbl 9y ago
    Land is not the only kind of investment property anymore, and can be bought by companies that trade on the stock market.

davemp 9y ago

Also nomadic societies haven't faired too well either.

nostrademons 9y ago

I didn't say that - AirBnB's model is agnostic about who actually owns the property, since as far as the platform is concerned, you can AirBnB out a property that you're renting. (The landlord might not like it, but that's for you and the landlord to work out.) Many people are both hosts and guests on AirBnB: they own one or a few properties that they rent out for income, and they use the income to live where they really want to live, in other people's AirBnBs. The idea of mainstream property ownership is dying in America for different reasons, notably easy access to credit and poor financial education of the masses. What AirBnB offers is a decoupling of "location" and "residency". The post-war dream was the idea that you'd put down roots at the place where you are physically located: you would think of yourself as a resident and a citizen of the municipality and nation whose borders encompassed your home, you would have a home that you would live in for many years and make improvements to for the long term, and you'd put down deep social ties with the people closest to you. The post-millenial dream, for many people, is that you would live anywhere that strikes your fancy, you would meet lots of interesting strangers who would become your friends, and you would have a lot of interesting experiences rather than just the same monotonous daily life. AirBnB is tapping into the post-millenial dream; they don't exist in a vacuum, they exist because a large number of people actually want the world to be that way.

wbl 9y ago

There is this thing called a stock market.

chillwaves 9y ago
And? You'll have to elaborate.
- wbl 9y ago
  Land is not the only kind of investment property anymore, and can be bought by companies that trade on the stock market.