85. Local businesses. Do we need them? Do we want them?
I
have written already, in post 34, about the ‘Todos tus libros’ platform, which
aims to help local Spanish bookshops survive financially during the lockdown.
And there are others helping different businesses, such as ‘Cuando volvamos’,
much more global. I’m not aware of the same in UK, which is material for
another post, but I may have just missed them. But do we really need to save
local businesses? Are they important? This I guess depends on how you
understand them. Most consumers see them as a means to buy goods and,
therefore, fully replaceable by global behemoths with optimised distribution
networks which can deliver the same goods to your door. But surely they are
more. They are local employers. Maybe local outlets too for local producers (of
food, art, toys, whatever). They can be local meeting places, where you bump
into those people who it is nice to occasionally bump into and have a chat.
Even shelter from the rain when out in town. What are they for you? Do we keep
them?
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Comments
Optimised distribution networks, cheap delivery services and all those things you describe are disconnected from the humans they drive and the humanity they drive too.
YES, we should strive to keep small businesses, variety, places to meet, experts to help us, connections to be made in the community, relationships to be made and explored. Small businesses trade in so much more than products and services in exchange for money.
Perhaps at the end of the day, the survival of local businesses really comes down to the age old law of economics - supply and demand. But I like to think that there's something more. These places often offer something different, something that we have some sort of connection with. In part they appeal to our conscience too. After all, we often have a choice when we choose to buy something. Perhaps pause for a moment, and imagine a your local town without them - maybe this is all we need to do.