The Liberty Lamp: Libertarian News & Editorials

Freecycle.org is an interesting socioeconomic project. It's a little like eBay, a little like the Good Will, and a little like FoodNotBombs!. What is the Freecycle Project then? A long story short, it's a nationwide human peer-to-peer (P2P) network for sharing... stuf! It began in Tuscon, AZ, but now boasts local groups in many cities and counties across America, and even in other countries.

The purpose of Freecycle is threefold:

1. To help keep potentially useful "junk" out of landfills and roadsides by enabling one to freely give your unwanted items to others who want or need them. Not only does this help individuals do their small part to conserve the environment, but it can help the needy too!
2. To help participants develop new interpersonal relationships through giving that might have gone unmade otherwise.
3. As any libertarian will soon notice, it makes "distributing wealth" a personal, and aggreeable event, without stupid socialism. You can feel good about giving, and find good throw-aways too. Everyone's happy and there's no brutal and incompetent State telling you what to do. It's inherently a one-on-one environment, where you can decide what to give and to whom. On the flip side, more giving equates to more generosity, and thus a potential to find someone nearby who has something you yourself might want.

I'm not usually too keen on such social projects, but this definately seems one to check out.