---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Maryknoll Global Concerns <[email protected]> Date: Wed, Feb 4, 2015 at 7:00 PM Subject: Encounters #5: The sharing economy - An economy of right relationship? To: [email protected] Dear Michel, Major changes are happening in the global economy, especially within the more industrialized countries, that have the potential to undermine the power of mammoth corporations and create a more egalitarian and sustainable society. New technologies allow people to share their belongings with others (the sharing economy), build new things without needing massive infrastructures (distributed production), finance initiatives without the use of banks (peer-to-peer financing) and to develop new technologies and share them without restrictive patent systems (open source and knowledge movements). Collectively, these different advances have been termed the collaborative economy. *This issue will focus exclusively on the sharing economy but we will return to these other pieces of the collaborative economy in another issue. * *Read Encounters #5 here in PDF format. <http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=pHQXtkSudERgOMzT2g5tS7v3b9ZAZHG7>* * <http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=tghe3ZlYW0qldzOr30WpPrv3b9ZAZHG7>* While these initiatives hold the potential for a better economy, it will depend on how they are constructed, as some parts of the collaborative economy already look frustratingly similar to the current economy. Concerns include how to guarantee the rights of people doing the labor, who benefits from that labor, and what of the low-wage workers who are displaced by a new unregulated industry? Ultimately, how do we move toward a transformational sharing that shifts the social and power dynamics to support the whole body of Christ? The Maryknoll OGC Faith-Economy-Ecology Team ------------------------------ *What is the sharing economy and how does it benefit the common good? <http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=AXDPJPGG8uv3GobracC1Y7v3b9ZAZHG7>** <http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=OPOM6xRQZ1LkO2dkAEhUIbv3b9ZAZHG7>* Local small-scale initiatives like tool sharing, time banking and community land trusts can increase sustainability and equity among participants and ensure that communities look within to meet their needs. But some are beginning to question whether aspects of the larger sharing economy are an improvement over the current patterns of wealth creation and distribution. *[image: airbnb]Follow the money <http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=u%2FenpxgdjNdH5wQ03tEuc0GuYXXcaduO>** <http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=WcIecCw1ZBBe5cP4FNtdhbv3b9ZAZHG7>* Who profits from the sharing economy? Is it the workers who provide car rides or rooms in their homes, or is it a centralized corporation? What is needed to ensure that everyone is rewarded for their contributions and that small sharing companies are able to maintain their independence? What can we learn from the models offered by Airbnb, Lyft, and Uber? *Uncharted territory: Is the sharing economy legal? <http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=FlcfQdjL4d4Q3znmzdY5ELv3b9ZAZHG7>** <http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=RLj7CGU2%2Fa0%2BDeAuMJKa%2Frv3b9ZAZHG7>* The sharing economy brings with it a host of legal questions related to taxation, public safety, insurance and more. This economic model exists almost entirely in legal gray areas. Will it produce more fights than profits? *Is the sharing economy dignified work? <http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=0OR5OktuvLOYKqGqF%2FsweLv3b9ZAZHG7>** <http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=T7lXrR10%2BW9pDXc2fPxlSrv3b9ZAZHG7>* With the economic downturn, thousands of jobs were lost. While the unemployment rate has improved recently, many of new jobs are part-time or are filled with people in the informal economy, including the sharing economy. How should full-time crowd-sourcing in the open source arena be compensated? What does the change in how we conceptualize work mean for the strides we have made towards fair wages, paid sick time, occupational safety, and other benefits hard won by the labor force? *Building a sharing economy for all God’s people <http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=CRePEB1Edqsh%2Bjp8hd8qY7v3b9ZAZHG7>** <http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=sOlQpLpa7%2Fnj8DzlQr5ykkGuYXXcaduO>* How do we move from profit-driven transactional sharing to transformational sharing based on a shift on power and social dynamics? *Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns* <http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=GuocN8fNoTPgsrQaUP2eqkGuYXXcaduO> 200 New York Avenue, NW Washington DC 20001 You are subscribed to this organization's email list as [email protected]. If you did not subscribe, or would no longer like to receive email updates, unsubscribe here <http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=FlcfQdjL4d7zdHeiJryU1rv3b9ZAZHG7>. Note: this will unsubscribe you from *all* MOGC lists. If you would like to be removed from a specific list, please contact [email protected]. Thank you. <http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=YuXAL0M7oqnsXZpd4qfHPbv3b9ZAZHG7> [image: empowered by Salsa] <http://www.salsalabs.com/?email> -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/