What is the sharing part in "sharing economy" when it's straight forward service for money transaction?
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January 29th, 2016
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Zipcar is a car sharing service. Lots of people rent the cars by the hour instead of owning personal cars. They’re sharing a fleet of cars.
I think the primary reason the sharing economy exists is because even tho you still pay somethibg , it’s not nearly as much as full market price if you shop wisely.
Airbnb is a good example, especially in major cities with sky high hotel rates (NY, Wash. DC, etc.) You can find some really nice places to stay that are affordable because the person is renting out their guest bedroom rather than a business, maintaining an entire building full of bedrooms plus staff.
There’s another aspect to this of which many people may not be aware unless they’re a business owner. In many places there are organizations which facilitate a cashless barter system among member businesses.
When I lived in Philly I was a member of Butcher Trade Exchange and saved significant cash on numerous services from other business members (even new transmission work in my car; a real lifesaver)
That part of th he sharing economy worked out really great for me.
The “Free” section of Craigslist is another example of the sharing economy at work and everybody wins. Instead of dumping things at a landfill, people get the opportunity to share things they no longer need with others who can use it.
By and large it’s not junk; just used and still in good condition. Freecycle offers similar opportunities.
Check out what’s available in your local area. The sharing economy is alive and well.
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http://articles.philly.com/1992-05-03/news/26011736_1_paul-suplizio-report-barter-deals-international-reciprocal-trade-association…
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http://articles.mcall.com/1988-11-13/business/2664167_1_trade-exchanges-barter-trade-credits
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Simply put it is a cashless exchange of goods and services…barter…one hand washes the other.
The con is that you are sharing your car or house with someone else. In reality, you are a contractor for some other company and required to supply and maintain your own equipment.
I think that the sharing economy is based on person-to-person interaction (horizontal) more than on a hierarchical (vertical) structure of providing services.
I don’t believe that ‘sharing’ means financial or physical sharing in the sense that I give you my new sweater; it means that we don’t need a massive infrastructure to provide it.
But thery are not sharing the cost of the maintenance of the infrastructure via taxes?
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