The news is full of their names, supposedly the vanguard of a rethinking
of capitalism. Lyft, Airbnb, Taskrabbit, Uber, and many more companies
have a mandate of disruption and upending the "old order"--and they've
succeeded in effecting the "biggest change in the American workforce in
over a century," according to former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.
But this new wave of technology companies is funded and steered by very
old-school venture capitalists. And in What's Yours Is Mine,
technologist Tom Slee argues 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 fortunes 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.
