Just as the global financial system was about to implode, the share economy made its spectacular appearance. The real estate bubble broke in 2008. The big promises of spectacular profits and fantastic returns on investments made by the international banking sector, beginning in the USA, disintegrated in a tangle of smoke and mirrors. In its aftermath, a horde of bankrupt little savers drowned. But, the experts were already setting sail for other safe harbors to invest their venture capital while the rest of the globe gaped in confusion and shock at the actions of the investment banks. 

They were cleverly concealed in charitable hedge funds. Sharing, the age-old act of kindness, was to emerge as the next lucrative business venture. Large online platforms made it possible for people to give away private property to complete strangers, including homes, automobiles, and cash. The clever turn in this was that the platforms kept a small percentage of the proceeds from each transaction. That was acceptable to the person.

But overall, it generated a good profit. The idea was simple to convey. Social media made it possible for people to share private information and content for years.

Field to ledger

Our economy has relied on sharing for generations. Throughout the High Middle Ages, villages managed forests and fields collectively. Agriculture relied on these commons. Sharing altered when the Republic (from Latin res publica, “public affair”) became an attractive constitutional alternative in the early modern period. Knowledge sharing became more crucial as political decision-making broadened. Educational institutions were crucial to producing educated and knowledgeable male citizens before federal female citizens followed in 1971. Republicanism inspired the late 19th century founding of the National Museum and National Library and the growth of obligatory school attendance. The Republic benefits if the latter continues to gather and distribute all Swiss publications. 

Shared tragedy

Sharing knowledge has drawbacks. Patent law protects innovations by preventing information sharing. The second half of the 20th century revealed sharing issues. Neo-conservatives called community goods and service management inefficient under the tragedy of the commons. Since the 1980s, these parties have been privatizing postal services and railways, claiming they are minimizing damage to property, society, and the environment. The financial crisis of 2008 and the widespread adoption of the internet overcame this economic skepticism about sharing. Sharing and economy reunited only in the whirlwind of globalization and digitalization unleashed by the World Wide Web. Republicanism failed.

Perhaps the much-criticized share economy should remember it.

Given their ability to tap into customers all around the world and offer a competitive marketplace for products and services, sharing economy businesses like Airbnb and eBay are poised for spectacular development. A sharing economy company can offer relatively competitively priced markets with more choice than traditional shops while maintaining extremely minimal overhead costs if the suitable niche is identified. In excess of a decade, neither Airbnb nor eBay has needed to construct a single home to sell on their websites, although both handle thousands of transactions every minute. 

Nowadays, you can find marketplaces and platforms for the sharing economy for almost any good or service you can imagine. You can typically find a sharing economy-based resolution for many kinds of things that you require, from housing and self-storage to dog walking and boat sharing. Platforms for the sharing economy have created a competitive new method for the direct exchange of goods and services between individuals, eliminating the expense of a middleman and fostering a sense of community among users. 

The future

Does the gig economy, the sharing economy, have a future. Most experts now say that it does. That it will be around for as long as capitalism itself.