Finally, they just say it out loud!

The World Economic Forum headed by Klaus Schwab has famously predicted that by 2030 “you’ll own nothing and be happy.” Even with that prediction, whenever I have alleged the goal of adherents to the WEF is to eliminate private car ownership in the near future, I’ve had all kinds of ugly accusations and name-calling hurled my way. Fortunately, in a recently-published article the WEF just spells out their desire to get rid of the concept that people can own a private vehicle.

Check out crazy California supercar gatherings here.

Written by Winnie Yeh, the article titled “3 circular economy approaches to reduce demand for critical metals” reasons why we can’t let people continue driving their own cars. As I’ve noted often, transitioning from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles will require considerable innovation and likely much longer than 10 or 15 years to realize, if you want to do it through a free market economy system.

While the article doesn’t come right out and say it, the methods it calls for would make an authoritarian, centralized government calling all the shots globally or at least in the West necessary. After all, it points out that mining rare earth minerals at levels necessary to make all those lithium-ion batteries “comes with its own costs and potentially unintended consequences.” Even if aggressive recycling were undertaken, it still wouldn’t be enough because mining is inherently evil. That means you have to surrender your car and use a communal rideshare electric vehicle.

The same tired argument I’ve heard before that most private cars are left parked most of the time is deployed. While that’s true, this fact also provides one key element: freedom. Rideshares might not be logistically possible everywhere. They come with their own shortcomings, not the least of which is nobody feels the need to really, truly take care of the vehicles as if they owned them because they don’t. If people want to engage in such a service, they should be free to do so and in many urban areas they can. But nobody should be compelled to give up their private property and share public property like this.

All this effort to spark a “clean energy revolution” which we apparently must do right now. There’s no time for debate or dissent, we’re on the cusp of disaster, a line I’ve been hearing my entire life and know has been used since well before.

Really, you just need to “transition from ownership to usership” as the article states, then everything will be fine. Instead of talking in detail about how we will be forced to give up personal property, Yeh focuses on the “significant effort and changes to our current way of life.” To get into the nuts and bolts would likely just cause too much pushback. Besides, it doesn’t take too much imagination, especially if you’ve studied enough world history, to see how this would be done.

Also, any student of history isn’t dumb enough to believe leaders will also share their cars. They’re much too busy and important to live the way they compel everyone else to live. After all, someone has to keep planning everything for the peasantry.

Check out the WEF article here.

Photos via GM, Daimler

By Steven Symes

Steven Symes is an accomplished automotive journalist with a passion for all things related to cars. His extensive knowledge and love for the automotive world shine through in his writing, which covers a diverse range of topics.