until a few years ago seemed unthinkable to share the car, hire a nanny through an application, sell clothes used throughout a social network or pay for sleep in the House of a stranger. All these actions are now increasingly everyday thanks to the innovation that has brought us the collaborative economics.
She succinctly, is a model that is based on “movement which includes new economic practices that have some degree of involvement or collective organization in the provision of goods and services in common”, with the emphasis on horizontal business networks and erasing the boundary between producer-consumer, which is usually done by using a mobile application or a platform website, under the pillar of recovery of commissions for sales made. These, in theory, promote the creation of social capital, but in practice it can be quite different, mainly because of the economic benefit that exists for those who manage these platforms.
Initially, this is something well seen by consumers, both services are cheaper, as well as for those who work part – time, people who are happy because they earn extra money to pay. But for those who depend on them, they have very difficult working conditions. Now where does this need? Because salaries are not enough: every day are more workers who must search for creative solutions to this global phenomenon. The problem is not only unemployment, but that weakness of the work – attached to debt and financialization of the economy.
The base of these start-up that spread internationally is a scheme of engagement that leverages on partners that does not have a dependency relationship. Some economists argue such activities more than enable economies, affecting sectors that have kept control of productive areas, destabilizing the status quo business.
It is ratified in at Uber partners looks the same precarious condition of taxis and buses, in the tenants of Airbnb looks the same precarious condition of pensioners and hoteliers, Glovo shows the precarious condition of the antique dealers. Paradoxically, the most affected with the emergence of platforms and applications are small entrepreneurs who had business before the boom. There, perhaps there should be a criticism to falling in love by technology, which leads to the search for ideas that produce a rapid growth and returns on capital soon, when in truth it is not changing nothing more than evade taxes and ensure the exploitation of another / to.
Now, it is possible these forms of collaboration to transform the lifestyle and mark a new adaptation of capitalism, with the emergence of a hybrid economy with experiences such as Prilov, Alba Babysitters, Gulliver, Broota, among others.
However, it is good that we begin to talk about these trabajos-no – works that manage platforms like Uber, Glovo, Airbnb, among others, because there is a world of risks they take mainly youth and precariousness. The contradiction between the dream of the freedom to manage the time and be your own boss, with the reality of having no social protection and (self-) are expressed in these operation that no one assumes, by the so-called break the traditional model of subordination and dependency. Is can not disregard that you for many and many of these activities are a solution, but we must firmly discuss what protection are given these workers: to recognize them as such (not as collaborators or partners), who have a salary basis, which is contracted insurance against risks, open the possibility to associate in trade unions, etc., all elements that not even in Europe have made progress, in the context of developing a legal frame that adapts to this new paradigm and the challenges of the digital economy 4.0.
So far, from the legislature and Executive have focused in the search for mechanisms to collect taxes from the platforms and applications. It is certainly part of the problem, but we are talking about situations where failure to make politics part in proposals, especially in youth policy, where are our same neighbors, family members or friends who live this reality.
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