This episode’s vocabulary
Self-sufficient
adj — able to provide everything you need for yourself without the help of others. → *Most people are self-sufficient, so they prefer not to borrow things from each other.*
Short-term need
phrase — a requirement for something for a brief period. → *People borrow things when it's just for a short-term need.*
Trustworthy
adj — able to be trusted. → *Provided that you're trustworthy, I don't think there should be any issue with borrowing money.*
Erode the friendship
phrase — to slowly reduce the quality of or damage a friendship. → *Borrowing money frequently might erode the friendship over time.*
Throw plans into disarray
phrase — to cause a state of confusion and lack of organization in plans. → *Asking for items back unexpectedly might throw pre-arranged plans into disarray.*
Gentle reminder
noun — a polite way of reminding someone to do something. → *The first step should be to give a gentle reminder to return the thing.*
Escalate from there
phrase — to increase the intensity or seriousness of a situation from a starting point. → *You can give a gentle reminder and then escalate from there if necessary.*
Higher up the social ladder
idiom — having a higher social status or position than someone else. → *They might be afraid to ask for something back if the person is higher up the social ladder.*
Wary of asking
phrase — feeling cautious or nervous about asking for something. → *Not setting a clear timeline can make people wary of asking for their item back.*
Communal
adj — belonging to or used by a group of people rather than one single person. → *Communal cars or bicycles are owned by the community, not an individual.*
Make ends meet
idiom — to have just enough money to pay for the things that you need. → *Sharing schemes are popular where people might not have enough to make ends meet.*
All and sundry
idiom — everyone, without distinction. → *You might not want all and sundry to have access to your personal property.*
Outliers
noun — people or things that are different from all other members of a particular group. → *Some people might resist sharing, but they'll probably be outliers in the future.*
Questions and answers
What kinds of things do people in your culture often borrow from their neighbors?
Oh, good question actually. I don't think we've borrowed anything from ours apart from their time, to be honest. When we've invited them round for parties and things. It's not so common these days since people are fairly self-sufficient.
Why do you think people sometimes prefer to borrow something rather than buy it?
It could just be a one time or short-term need, I suppose. So there's no need to buy something and keep it in the house long term, is there? If it's this kind of thing.
Do you agree that it's never a good idea to borrow money from friends?
I can see why people might feel that way, but provided that you're trustworthy and have a plan in place to return the money within an agreed time frame, I don't think there should be any issue with that. Of course, if you're doing it a lot, then that might erode the friendship over time, but that's not the norm in my experience.
What problems can occur when people borrow things from other people?
I think the most obvious seems like, well, things get damaged or destroyed, or maybe people doing the borrowing fail to return them for some reason and with no explanation or compensation. Or the people who loaned out the items to begin with could ask for them back unexpectedly, which might throw some pre-arranged or pre-agreed plans into disarray.
What should someone do if a person does not return something they've borrowed?
Well, I mean logically the first step should be to give a gentle reminder to return the thing, and then escalate from there. You could even go all the way up to legal action if things get really out of hand. But usually people just need to be asked and that's enough.
Why can it sometimes be difficult to ask someone to return something they've borrowed?
Well, sometimes people can be shy and unwilling to risk any kind of social conflict at all, so they might hesitate to ask or the people they loaned their things to could be higher up the social ladder than them, and they might or they could be afraid to ask as well. Other times they may not just have set out a clear timeline for the thing to be returned and that can make people wary of asking.
How effective are schemes where people pay to use communal cars or bicycles?
Well I've seen them around and they seem fairly popular, especially in this day and age where people might not have enough to make ends meet and buy their own vehicles too. I haven't seen any articles on them though, so I don't know how good they are on a national or global scale. On the face of it they seem fine.
Why do you think many people are unwilling to share ownership of things such as cars?
Well, that probably depends on the relationships of the people involved. If you own the house or the car itself, then it's your property and you might not want all and sundry to have access to them and potentially damage them. A house and a car are sort of extensions of personal space. So I can see how that could get complicated in that regard.
Do you think there will be more shared ownership in the future?
I would imagine so. It certainly seems like people are moving towards more sustainable ways of living as the climate crisis worsens. So it makes sense that would include sharing ownership of various things with most people. Some might be pretty restive in that respect, but they'll probably be outliers. It seems like the vast majority will opt for this kind of thing.