Why Platform Cooperatives Can Be The Answer To A Fairer Sharing Economy

Summary

Uber and AirBnb,  are examples of companies that are networked monopolies that depend on the value created by their users to keep expanding.The value they create is what Brhmie Balaram calls networked shared value. It is not based on resource extraction, but instead on helping the exchange of resources.

The radical novelty of the sharing economy is that users are the ones who create value. Both consumers and workers achieve this by sharing access to underused assets or human resources in an online network. Users do have some power over technology to change their lives and work.