Peer to peer moving is only a part of the larger Sharing Economy
Intensive warfare created incentives powerful enough to lead to the destruction of old institutions and the creation of new ones to take their place. These occurred with regard to military organization, taxation, bureaucracy, civilian technological innovation, and ideas.
The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution, By Francis Fukuyama.
The above points to the reality that history has always repeated itself through the ages. Whether it’s warfare, competition, class struggle, innovation, or competition at any level. The idea that Collaborative Consumption or the new economy is a phenomenon is patently false. We are simply in a different iteration of a pattern that has been consistent throughout history. People will find ways to organize, people will establish commerce whenever the establishment overplay their hand. It’s a simple fact!
In the same token, capitalism and the rule of law go hand in hand. So where is the balance? Where is the friction point that ensures the fine balance between the opportunities that capitalism presents to all, and the rule of law that protects all participants from the excesses of a demand/supply system run amok? In the peer to peer model, this is inherently guaranteed by way of collaborative consumption. The mere idea of “idle capital” is one that few understand. I discussed this briefly in a prior post. Realizing the meaning of idle capital will make every human see their world very differently. It has the potential to change our entire planet, this is what happened in the technology world. This is what happened in Silicon Valley, and increasingly in different parts of the world. The idea of collaborative consumption and peer to peer consumption is overhauling our very definition of commerce….and trade. Peer to peer moving is just one tentacle among the vast reach of the new economy.
Unfortunately, some have tried to dispute the very existence of the new economy, or the reemergence of collaborative consumption. Demographically, one has to note it has been the “old guard”. A generation that espouse the believe that there has to be a loser for every winner. One that sees inequality as a means to power and privilege. One that has historically confused privilege for power. Interestingly, even those elected to lead and steer the sacred ship of governance have spoke against the new economy….food for thought. We talk about sharing, yet we are the first to hoard. We talk about giving, yet we look to take. We talk about uplifting those aground, yet knocking your fellow human down is normalized. Isn’t it time we take an introspective look at how we consumer, and how we define commerce? In a capitalist society based on the rule of law, we can all indeed be winners. Peer to peer commerce, which includes peer to peer sharing, peer to peer moving, peer to peer car sharing, peer to peer financing, among other areas on collaborative consumption are here to stay and within the capitalist economy, protected by the rule of law. Fukuyama states below;
There is a large literature that links the establishment of the rule of law to economic development. This literature reflects at base an important insight namely, that the emergence of the modern world, including the emergence of a capitalist economy, was broadly dependent on the prior existence of a rule of law. The absence of a strong rule of law is indeed one of the principal reasons why poor countries can’t achieve higher rates of growth.
pHlatbed will always remain part of the new sharing economy as this is the foundation upon with the company exists. Collaborative consumption is the basis upon which pHlatbed continues to deliver services, creating opportunities far and wide for those who want to turn their idle capital into revenue sources.
Cheers!