Is the ‘Sharing Economy’ a New Paradigm for American Capitalism?

Last week, the nonprofit organization Peers co-hosted a two-day conference all about the
“sharing economy” at the Marines’ Memorial Theater in San
Francisco. About 400 people attended. “The sharing economy is at a
critical inflection point,”
Peers noted on its website. “This rapidly evolving model has global
and local implications that are changing markets, cities, and
lives.”

So what’s the “sharing economy?” As I argued in
an article last week, even the movement’s big thinkers aren’t
quite sure what the phrase means, but it’s often used to refer to
businesses like Airbnb,
Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, Getaround, RelayRides, and EatWith. These companies are also
sometimes described as “peer-to-peer” because they connect buyers
and sellers through online marketplaces.

In a
series of four videos, I looked at how these companies are
providing consumers a way around bad government policies. They’re
also demonstrating how regulation often serves no purpose other
than to protect existing players.

Click below to watch the stories.