Dimensions
135 x 210 x 18mm
A razor-sharp examination of the 'sharing economy'.
Uber. Airbnb. Taskrabbit. Lyft. In recent years, companies like these have flooded the global market, supposedly the vanguard of a rethinking of capitalism. They've styled themselves as disrupters of the 'old order', but this new wave of technology companies is funded and steered by very old-school venture capitalists, who are pushing for monopoly power. In What's Yours Is Mine, Tom Slee argues that the so-called 'sharing economy' damages development, extends harsh free-market practices into previously protected areas of our lives, and presents the opportunity for a few people to make an enormous amount of money by damaging communities and pushing vulnerable individuals to take on unsustainable risk.
Drawing on original empirical research, Slee shows that the friendly language of sharing, trust, and community masks a darker reality. In holding these companies to account, he asks- What is being shared, and in whose interest?
