The Sharing Economy: The End of Employment and the Rise of Crowd-Based Capitalism

Sharing isn't new. Giving someone a ride, having a guest in your spare room, running errands for someone, participating in a supper club-these are not revolutionary concepts. What is new, in the 'sharing economy,' is that you are not helping a friend for free; you are providing these services to a stranger for money. In this book, Arun Sundararajan, an expert on the sharing economy, explains the transition to what he describes as 'crowd-based capitalism'-a new way of organizing economic activity that may supplant the traditional corporate-centered model. As peer-to-peer commercial exchange blurs the lines between the personal and the professional, how will the economy, government regulation, what it means to have a job, and our social fabric be affected?

Drawing on extensive research and numerous real-world examples, Sundararajan explains the basics of crowd-based capitalism. He describes the intriguing mix of 'gift' and 'market' in its transactions, demystifies emerging blockchain technologies, and clarifies the dizzying array of emerging on-demand platforms. He then considers how this new paradigm changes economic growth and the future of work.