Faced with uberization, a call to the digital cooperative

An economic revolution to come?

Is an economic revolution possible? While neo-liberalism and market capitalism have dominated for at least 40 years, it seems to be running out of steam these days. Other models are emerging and among them, the sharing economy.

Now, platforms make it possible to rent housing, call for transportation or food without having to go through a classic structure. What some have named the uberization, in reference to the giant Uber. However, this economy also comes with many flaws and is increasingly shown as another form of exploitation of workers.

What if this idea was combined with the cooperative? That's what Dardan Isufi, a bachelor of political science at McGill, proposes in this talk at TEDX Montreal. He gives the example of Fairbnb, which aims to be a co-op of people willing to rent out their homes with more respect for the living environment than the giant AirBNB.

This type of more ethical business would be even more possible with another technology: blockchain. Indeed, it doesn't necessarily have immense utility on its own. Yet, for the speaker, it would allow cooperatives to grow better by keeping the trust of members. If votes or shares are counted by the "blockchain" technology, it would be easier in his opinion to propose a real collaborative economy.

Time: 13min32