There are important pieces of equipment that depending upon individual needs may not be justifiable (financially) to purchase. For instance, a 3-point tiller for a tractor or for that matter a tractor itself, my be very costly to afford/justify for a small acreage. An example is a 3-point tiller. Purchased new for a CAtegory 1 tractor, they range from $1500-3500. If you are planting a 1-acre garden, you would use the tiller about 8-12 hours a year. Spring cultivating, seed bed prep, and turning the garden over in the fall. Rationally, it is impossible to financially justify the purchase for that amount of use.
A "smarter" approach might be for a group to purchase the tool and share it when needed. You could easily share a tiller amongst 10-15 families with all getting their plant/seeds in the best time to plant with a great reduction in capital costs.
There must be many other examples like box-blades, trailers, hay buggies, and for that matter tractors.
What are your thoughts on working cooperatively through sharing capital costs versus working as an independent individual/farm/ranch/gulch and individually investing in the equipment and selling your services?
As I see it, the coop breeds collaboration, sharing and community while the "go it alone" approach fosters trade and business.