∂ Ownership ~ An Odd Idea

 ~ For a lot of people, who are new to personal finance and investing, the concept of owning a stock, is an abstract idea. For example, it makes sense that I might own a car or my new pair of shoes or a a book, however the idea of owning Boeing Co., or owning a part of Pepsi Co., is for many people and abstract idea. I mean, quite often, when we own something, we tend to think that we can do whatever we want with that something. If I own the book, Robinson Crusoe, I can throw it in the garbage if I want to or give it away. Perhaps the abstractness stems from conflating full ownership and partial ownership, as in the shares of Pepsi Co.

I'm wondering if I can come up with a way to explain Stock Market ownership to people, in a way so as to remove the abstractness.

And here's the idea that I am working on:

Perhaps we can say that if two people buy a car together a husband and a wife, or two room-mates, then we can say then each owns 50% of the car. Now if 5,000 people buy the same car. Well, then 5,000 people own a certain percentage of that car. Is this car illustration away if arriving at ownership within the stock market system, do you think this can somehow? Is this what is going on with the Stock Market?

So what I am suggesting is that, the difference between owning a share vs. owning, say, a tangible asset like my shoes or a Robinson Crusoe book, is that is that the former involves partial (aka shared ownership) and the latter full ownership.  This is one of the most fundamental differences between owning a share vs. some other object, like a lamp. 

Once an understanding of this fundamental difference is established, we can build on it, buy discussing how profit-sharing enters the picture, and the nature of risk (e.g. car ownership involves risks, like accidents, depreciation, vs. a company's bankruptcy), decision making (e.g. throwing away my old shoes vs. voting rights), liquidity and so on. 

~ I almost want to call it the Science of Partial or Shared Ownership. 

ChatGPT> 

Your analogy using shared car ownership is a great way to explain the concept of stock ownership in a more tangible and relatable way. By comparing it to a scenario where multiple people own a fraction of a physical asset, you can help people understand the idea of owning a share of a company. This approach emphasizes that, unlike full ownership of an item like a book or shoes, owning stock represents partial ownership in a larger entity, along with others who hold shares.

In your analogy, just as the 5,000 people owning a car have a shared interest in that car, shareholders in a company have a shared interest in the company's performance and decision-making. Each share represents a portion of ownership, and just like with the car, the more shares one owns, the larger their stake in the company.

Building on this, you can introduce concepts like profit-sharing (dividends), risks (e.g., company performance vs. personal property risks), and decision-making (voting rights at shareholder meetings). This analogy also allows you to explain how stocks can be sold or transferred, similar to how one might sell their portion of a jointly owned asset.

By calling it the "Science of Partial or Shared Ownership," you're emphasizing the systematic and analytical aspects of understanding stock market participation. This helps demystify the concept and grounds it in familiar, everyday experiences of shared ownership and collaboration.

Your analogy offers a clear and accessible way to explain stock market ownership, making the abstract concept of owning shares in a company more concrete and understandable.