What is the Ownership Economy
Whether you realize it or not, you actually own very little in this life—a trend which has only continued to worsen with the rise of digitally distributed games, movies, and books. You may think you own that Xbox game, but the reality is, the company could snatch it back at any given time.
The good news is that people began to notice this several years ago and have started a new movement toward the ownership economy. The ownership economy focuses on returning control to users instead of multi-million dollar companies. Read on to learn more about this idea and how you can become a part of owning your own future.
What is the Ownership Economy?
The ownership economy is that power which is currently centralized in a few massive corporations can be redistributed and returned to the people. It can sometimes also be referred to as the decentralized economy. Of course, to understand the ownership economy, it’s important to understand that you currently own very little of your life.
Why is the Ownership Economy Important?
Unfortunately, in the last five decades, capitalism has taken over America, with small family-owned businesses disappearing overnight. This has given a very select few companies massive control over pretty much every aspect of your life.
The grocery store? There are only about five brands on the shelves: PepsiCo, Tyson Foods, General Mills, Kraft, and Mars. Frito-Lay? Bought by Pepsi Co. Quaker Oats? Also, Pepsi Co. Hillshire Farms? That’s actually Tyson. Pretty much anything you buy in the cereal or baking aisle is owned by General Mills, and Kraft owns nearly all the sauces and cheeses. The biggest surprise of all, however, might be Mars, which owns all the candy, Uncle Ben’s rice, and several brands of pet food you likely feed to your pet.
Online things are even more grim, with Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft pretty much owning every app, search engine, social media website, and cloud storage. Chances are, if you store your photos, videos, and apps online, you store with one of these large conglomerates. And things got even worse in 2026 when the one company not on this list, ByteDance, was forced to whittle down its controlling share of TikTok, allowing these companies to snatch them up.
You might be reading this wondering why it’s a big deal. And honestly, on the surface it’s not, unless you are worried about the distribution of wealth in society (which we are, but that is another story); however we are worried about the future—about what happens if one of these companies goes under and you lose access to everything you have spent time and money on.
Just imagine, Google goes under tomorrow (unlikely, but stay with us), how much will you lose? No more Gmail, no more Google Docs, anything you had stored on the drive is gone, will you survive?
The answer is increasingly no, and this worries us because these companies basically have us in a chokehold. In fact, based on what happened in the 2008 market crash, we wouldn’t be surprised if these companies, in the not-so-distant future, forced the government (aka you) to bail them out of a tight spot because the world can’t survive without them. You’re probably thinking “Google would never do something like that,” but the reality is, do you truly trust Google that much?
The reality is, large corporations are greedy, and they increasingly make mistakes which we, the people, end up paying for with our hard-earned money. This is where the ownership economy comes in, trying to return the power to the people before we have a repeat of 2008. The question is, is it too little too late?
How to Get Involved in the Ownership Economy
Honestly, it is hard to step away from everything you own being in the hands of these large corporations. And we know it isn’t possible to stop relying on them 100%; however, if you want to put control back in your own hands, here are some things you can do.
1. Use Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency and NFTs are a huge aspect of the market economy and decentralization. They put financial control back in your hands, while also circumventing some of the fees involved in sending fiat (like wire transfer fees). Of course, some of the easiest ways to spend crypto have involved Mastercard and Visa (like the crypto.com card) but at least you are moving your money, and spending, away from the banks.
Just make sure you use a decentralized exchange like Uniswap for max control over your cryptocurrency.
2. Use Web3 Products
Again, most of the internet is owned by five companies. It’s time to leave them behind by choosing Web3 whenever you can. We know it won’t always be possible, but if you can use a search engine like MetaMask instead of Google Chrome and watch videos on Odysee instead of YouTube, you are already well on your way to hitting Google where it hurts.
3. Step Away from Centralized Messaging
This one is a hard one, but it is also a big deal when discussing privacy. If you haven’t already left WhatsApp or Apple messaging, it is definitely time for your own safety and security. A good place to start is Signal, though new decentralized messaging options are popping up all the time, though their functionality isn’t always the best.
4. Shop/Eat Small
Again, we know it isn’t possible for you to never go to the grocery store again, but we implore you to shop at local farmer’s markets whenever possible. And when you do head to the grocery store, try to pick local brands whenever possible (though it is getting harder and harder to avoid General Mills as they even purchased Annie’s Organic Foods). There are some apps that help with this, though most charge a small fee.
This extends to products as well. If you can find something in a location other than Amazon, please buy it there, even if it costs a little bit more. But, as Amazon continues to grow, it is also buying up multiple smaller businesses, and it may be too late to stop them. But we can hope for more people like you ensuring Amazon doesn’t own the world in 2030.
