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A review by panda_incognito
The Buy Nothing, Get Everything Plan: Discover the Joy of Spending Less, Sharing More, and Living Generously by Liesl Clark, Rebecca Rockefeller
3.0
This book includes lots of basic ideas for low-waste living that the target audience will already be familiar with, and has a strong anti-capitalist bent that will make it less appealing to many readers, including me, who are interested in cultivating more sustainable lives without being told that buying and selling is horrible and destructive. However, this book is worthwhile and unique because of the ideas and inspiration that the authors provide for cultivating a community where people can share and give items without strings attached.
The authors show how people can meet each other's needs through in-person and online groups where they can ask for help, offer up items that they no longer want, and connect people with resources that they need. This book includes inspiring stories about people whose experiences in groups like these changed their lives, and the stories are genuinely moving, not just advertisement for the authors' cause.
I ended up skimming through this book, because I was already familiar with a lot of the material, and other parts were very preachy. Still, I enjoyed the meaningful stories, and I would encourage people who are interested in the topic to give this a try, dipping into the parts that they would find most inspiring or helpful. However, if someone is looking for detailed advice and troubleshooting for how to operate a sharing group in their community, they should know that this book is mostly aspirational, and does not get into the weeds of how you can moderate a group and deal with the various challenges that will inevitably arise.
I wish that the authors had addressed common issues or complaints. I understand that they want to inspire people, not scare them off, but most of us have been in online groups and know how quickly they can go off the rails. The authors take an overly rosy view of human nature, as if humans are perfect and only capitalism is the problem, instead of recognizing how humans can create amazing things and corrupt and destroy them. I would have appreciated acknowledgement of common concerns, and there are lots of issues that the authors could have provided practical advice for.
For example, how do you handle safety issues? If multiple people request an item you've offered, do you give it to the first person who asked, or the person who you think has the greatest need? What do you do when someone keeps taking nice items for free just to sell them? How do you handle moderating the group when people argue or create controversy? Do you ever vet people's sob stories or requests at any level to make sure that a requester is legitimate, and not trying to scam others for money or valuable items? There are lots of different issues that can arise in groups like these, and I wish that the authors had addressed them, instead of only offering inspiration.
The authors show how people can meet each other's needs through in-person and online groups where they can ask for help, offer up items that they no longer want, and connect people with resources that they need. This book includes inspiring stories about people whose experiences in groups like these changed their lives, and the stories are genuinely moving, not just advertisement for the authors' cause.
I ended up skimming through this book, because I was already familiar with a lot of the material, and other parts were very preachy. Still, I enjoyed the meaningful stories, and I would encourage people who are interested in the topic to give this a try, dipping into the parts that they would find most inspiring or helpful. However, if someone is looking for detailed advice and troubleshooting for how to operate a sharing group in their community, they should know that this book is mostly aspirational, and does not get into the weeds of how you can moderate a group and deal with the various challenges that will inevitably arise.
I wish that the authors had addressed common issues or complaints. I understand that they want to inspire people, not scare them off, but most of us have been in online groups and know how quickly they can go off the rails. The authors take an overly rosy view of human nature, as if humans are perfect and only capitalism is the problem, instead of recognizing how humans can create amazing things and corrupt and destroy them. I would have appreciated acknowledgement of common concerns, and there are lots of issues that the authors could have provided practical advice for.
For example, how do you handle safety issues? If multiple people request an item you've offered, do you give it to the first person who asked, or the person who you think has the greatest need? What do you do when someone keeps taking nice items for free just to sell them? How do you handle moderating the group when people argue or create controversy? Do you ever vet people's sob stories or requests at any level to make sure that a requester is legitimate, and not trying to scam others for money or valuable items? There are lots of different issues that can arise in groups like these, and I wish that the authors had addressed them, instead of only offering inspiration.