>Having subject matter experts in government doesn't imply central planning. Well, having a government implies central planning. Are you a hoppian? Or is the username a coincidence? Genuine question. >That's what I mean by "work." It will never achieve what it promises, but a high iq, high trust society could make it work well enough that there weren't bread lines and people starving to death. Well sure, but why settle for socialism? It's a bit like saying "if I were a professional mechanic I bet I could get this lada to run almost as smooth as a western car." >Who maintains them? >>Whoever broke it. Maintainence is usually about upkeep and replacing things before they break. The point is that there's a lot of hidden costs and economic decisions that go into running a bike hire service. I see no reason why those decisions shouldn't be made through price signals, as opposed to guesswork. >Again, you're imagining a government-style program. Who pays for them is irrelevant to whether people will steal the bikes and/or vandalize them But someone has to buy the initial lot of bikes, and replace the ones that wear out. They also have to decide what kind of bikes to buy and whether it's worth buying fancy super-light carbon-fiber bikes or shitty steel ones that feel like pedalling a tank. >I'm surprised at how statist this style of thinking is coming from you. It's a very centralized, top-down view of the world. It doesn't matter how centralised or decentralised it is, someone still has to make those spending decisions and assess value. In a for-profit model they have thousands of consumers telling them how valuable the bikes are and they can adjust the resources they allocate to it accordingly. In a gift economy they're just guessing. >It doesn't. Stealing a community resource and then charging people to use what was theirs is what causes the loss of trust. I never would have taken you for a jew in all the years we've gone back and forth on voat. How is it theft to buy a bike and rent it out? Like... is there a free-bike tree growing in a commons somewhere? :P