on natural resources since the Industrial Revolution.
The sharing economy is a social phenomenon, in that it has allowed ordinary people to use their surplus resources in many forms and to consume in a mutual and altruistic way.
It is also environmental, because the sharing economy makes it possible to absorb excess capacity (infrastructure needs, car needs, etc.), reduce the exploitation of natural resources, and meet the needs of those that are most disadvantaged in society.
So, what is the “instrument” that has enabled the expansion of this economic phenomenon?
The notion of the sharing economy is in its conceptualization phase and does not yet have a consensus on its definition. It only dates back to the early 1990s. Indeed:
Collaborative economics is a concept carried by successful essayists such as J. Rifkin, R. Botsman or F. Turner, activists like Mr. Bauwens, media like Shareable in the United States, think tanks and do tanks like OuiShare in France, or by some entrepreneurs and start-up managers, and even more and more large companies. (Massé et al. 2015)
The conceptualization of the sharing economy is incipient, its advantages and disadvantages are not yet well defined. Although it is well received, it does not have an epistemological definition. In an ironic note, Bostman says: “The sharing economy lacks a shared definition.”
The sharing economy has become a global phenomenon. Thus, can it represent an economic model that competes with the traditional economy? What are the advantages of this new economy? Will it contribute to the sustainability of the economy?
1.2. From simple sharing to the sharing economy
The act of sharing is natural for us, it responds to a tangible satisfaction (exchange of goods and services), but also to self-satisfaction, to the extent that we put our humanity into practice in the relationships that unite us.
Human beings learn to share from an early age. As time goes by, the sense of ownership gives way to a sense of sharing. Moreover, it is religious beliefs that have inculcated the desire to escape the grip of self-centeredness within us. Monotheistic religions call for sharing through their main foundations and practices.
Thus, the concept of sharing is interpreted in society in several ways: cooperatives, mutual associations, volunteering, etc. The spirit of sharing was embodied in the development of digital technology, which has grown tremendously in recent years:
In cities, new digital technologies are revolutionizing the way we use transportation, housing, goods and other services […] The sharing economy has disrupted virtually every sector, creating a multitude of markets based on platforms that connect individuals, businesses and communities. (Hodkinson 2017)
To understand the shift from the concept of “sharing” to that of the sharing economy, let us immerse ourselves in the history of its origin, its foundations and its practices.
1.2.1. The genesis of the sharing economy and the break with “consumer” society
Etymologically speaking, the word “to share” comes from the Latin partes agere: partes means “to make equal parts” and agere means “to push” and “to activate”. As a result, the concept has existed since antiquity and combines the two meanings: to divide an entity for a specific purpose. This can be a sharing of inheritance to benefit all heirs, or a sharing of power to delegate certain responsibilities.
In the notion of the “sharing economy”, each of the two words has kept its specificity.
Sharing always means leaving a part of something that belongs to us to one or more people, no matter how this action is carried out. It is the combination of the two words that makes the difference.
Indeed, the sharing economy has become the apanage of the solidarity economy and has experienced a staggering growth in recent years thanks to the development of information technology and mobile technology. Via software, or more precisely platforms, business transactions and meetings between suppliers and service providers are growing exponentially.
The term “sharing economy” was first added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2015. Similarly, the scientific literature on the concept is relatively new. Researchers looked at different aspects of the sharing economy using different names.
Among the names used, we can mention:
– peer-to-peer economy;
– collaborative economy;
– collaborative production and collaborative consumption;
– access economy;
– consumption based on access;
– local economy;
– peer production based on commonality and mesh size;
– product-system service and on-demand economy;
– wholesale economics;
– platform economy.
Nevertheless, the term “sharing economy” is the most commonly used term in the literature (Ranjbari et al. 2018).
“We believe that the economy of sharing can be the defining story of the 21st Century if we come together to build it.” These are the words of Natalie Foster, co-founder and executive director of Peers.org. The defenders of this ideology want to fight overconsumption and waste, create social equity and make the shared economy the “economic model of the third millennium”.
The sharing economy wants to break with the consumption practices that have occurred since the Industrial Revolution, where consumers are forced to consume excessively. It began after the Second World War and reached its peak in the years known as the Glorious Thirty.
Consumer society was born with the advent of Taylor’s theory and the launch of assembly line work. This process has resulted in an abundance of products and reduced prices, which have become accessible to all segments of society.
The bewitching power of advertising must be added to this, which manipulates the consumer at the whim of producers:
Advertising is the main instrument of manipulation, in fact, it conditions, brings a subliminal perception and influences the population subconsciously. Over the years, it has mobilized mental manipulation techniques from human sciences to encourage consumers to buy.1
Without question, the consumer society has allowed man to satisfy his every desire for goods and services and to live in unavoidable comfort. A vehicle for moving, water and energy brought to your home, sophisticated objects for entertainment and many other gadgets. Nevertheless, it has had negative consequences, which have been denounced since the 1960s, in particular by George Katona, inventor of the term “consumer society” and initiator of consumer psychology.
At that time, “markets were not yet globalized; private and public spheres of life were not as commercialized as today; and the information and digital communication society was not yet born” (Reisch 2008).
The alternative to the consumer society was the unrelenting collaborative society,
