Addressing the Sharing Economy—Some (Potential) Inconsistencies of Its Emancipatory Defense

The sharing economy (SE) is a strongly contested idea, both conceptually and politically. This paper first explores multiple existing definitions, emphasizing the challenges in both conceptual and operational terms they usually entail. It is argued that most of the common definitions tend to exacerb...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Lain Escandell, Bru
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/218144
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/218144
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Racionalisme
Economia col·laborativa
Rationalism
Sharing economy
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spelling Addressing the Sharing Economy—Some (Potential) Inconsistencies of Its Emancipatory DefenseLain Escandell, BruRacionalismeEconomia col·laborativaRationalismSharing economyThe sharing economy (SE) is a strongly contested idea, both conceptually and politically. This paper first explores multiple existing definitions, emphasizing the challenges in both conceptual and operational terms they usually entail. It is argued that most of the common definitions tend to exacerbate tensions between informativeness and veracity, resulting in the SE becoming a catchall concept. Alternatively, it is often suggested to operationalize the concept by breaking it down among its main areas, such as consumption, knowledge, production, and finance. However, these kinds of classifications lack logical-formal consistency and substantive validity. The paper then addresses the political-normative debate by briefly presenting the three main existing perspectives on the SE: (i) as a more inclusive form of capitalism, (ii) as the advancement of the neoliberal agenda, and (iii) as a sort of emancipatory economy. The primary aim of this paper, however, is not to advocate for a singular viewpoint or scrutinize any particular author’s theory, but to examine three common errors that the emancipatory conception may easily fall into: (i) overemphasizing the role of communities in economic activity, (ii) attributing an inherent collaborative propensity to individuals, and (iii) understanding markets from an a-institutional and psychological standpoint. The conclusions suggest that to truly realize the emancipatory potential of the SE, the conception should distance itself from standard economic theory and adopt a more institutional approach akin to classical political economy.MDPI2025202520242025info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion17 p.application/pdfapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2445/218144Articles publicats en revistes (Sociologia)reponame:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunyainstname:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)InglésReproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9060180Philosophies, 2024, vol. 9, num.6, p. 180-196https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9060180cc-by (c) Laín, B., 2024http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:recercat.cat:2445/2181442026-05-29T05:05:01Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Addressing the Sharing Economy—Some (Potential) Inconsistencies of Its Emancipatory Defense
title Addressing the Sharing Economy—Some (Potential) Inconsistencies of Its Emancipatory Defense
spellingShingle Addressing the Sharing Economy—Some (Potential) Inconsistencies of Its Emancipatory Defense
Lain Escandell, Bru
Racionalisme
Economia col·laborativa
Rationalism
Sharing economy
title_short Addressing the Sharing Economy—Some (Potential) Inconsistencies of Its Emancipatory Defense
title_full Addressing the Sharing Economy—Some (Potential) Inconsistencies of Its Emancipatory Defense
title_fullStr Addressing the Sharing Economy—Some (Potential) Inconsistencies of Its Emancipatory Defense
title_full_unstemmed Addressing the Sharing Economy—Some (Potential) Inconsistencies of Its Emancipatory Defense
title_sort Addressing the Sharing Economy—Some (Potential) Inconsistencies of Its Emancipatory Defense
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Lain Escandell, Bru
author Lain Escandell, Bru
author_facet Lain Escandell, Bru
author_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Racionalisme
Economia col·laborativa
Rationalism
Sharing economy
topic Racionalisme
Economia col·laborativa
Rationalism
Sharing economy
description The sharing economy (SE) is a strongly contested idea, both conceptually and politically. This paper first explores multiple existing definitions, emphasizing the challenges in both conceptual and operational terms they usually entail. It is argued that most of the common definitions tend to exacerbate tensions between informativeness and veracity, resulting in the SE becoming a catchall concept. Alternatively, it is often suggested to operationalize the concept by breaking it down among its main areas, such as consumption, knowledge, production, and finance. However, these kinds of classifications lack logical-formal consistency and substantive validity. The paper then addresses the political-normative debate by briefly presenting the three main existing perspectives on the SE: (i) as a more inclusive form of capitalism, (ii) as the advancement of the neoliberal agenda, and (iii) as a sort of emancipatory economy. The primary aim of this paper, however, is not to advocate for a singular viewpoint or scrutinize any particular author’s theory, but to examine three common errors that the emancipatory conception may easily fall into: (i) overemphasizing the role of communities in economic activity, (ii) attributing an inherent collaborative propensity to individuals, and (iii) understanding markets from an a-institutional and psychological standpoint. The conclusions suggest that to truly realize the emancipatory potential of the SE, the conception should distance itself from standard economic theory and adopt a more institutional approach akin to classical political economy.
publishDate 2024
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2024
2025
2025
2025
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/2445/218144
url https://hdl.handle.net/2445/218144
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Reproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9060180
Philosophies, 2024, vol. 9, num.6, p. 180-196
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9060180
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv cc-by (c) Laín, B., 2024
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv cc-by (c) Laín, B., 2024
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv 17 p.
application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Articles publicats en revistes (Sociologia)
reponame:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
instname:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
instname_str Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
reponame_str Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
collection Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
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