David Brown

Social Action Coordinator, JHub

@liveinthegrey @BigGreenJewish

facebook.com/BigGreenJewish

Jewishgeekandproud.wordpress.com

#SharingEconomy

The challenge?

I’m bored!

Me too!

The challenge: Hyper consumption

Over the last three decades we shifted from being consumers to being turbo consumers…We stopped comparing ourselves with the Joneses and attempted instead to match up to the Beckhams- Neal Lawson, All Consuming

The challenge: Degradation of earth and its natural resources

The challenge: Consumer economies create wealth & jobs

‘cos we are living in a material worldand I am a material girl

The idea: From ownership to access

“Fancy cars that go very fast, You know, they never last, no no”

The idea: From stuff to experiences

The idea: Giving people what they want NOW

The idea: Empowering people, generating trust and building community

Is this Jewish? Well it is Jew-ish

Limits on ownership and consumption

“It’s all an illusion…

There’s too much confusion”

Avoid wanton destruction & waste of natural resources. Take care of the earth

But Judaism is not completely anti materialism and consumption

Let a person not…go to the opposite extreme, not to eat meat, drink wine, marry, live in a nice house or dress in fine clothes…

`Is not what the Torah has forbidden enough that you have to forbid for yourself other things?!'.

(Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Opinions 3:1)

Rambam – everything in moderation

In Jewish practice as well as values…the Gemach

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