Market transactions like any other?
One of the promised benefits of collaborative consumption emphasises the connections it creates between individuals. It is argued that peer-to-peer exchanges of goods and services generate encounters and encourage social interaction around the transaction, making them more “authentic” than ordinary commercial dealings. More critical observers believe that collaborative consumption actually turns people into small-scale market entities. Between sharing and bonds on one side and selfish calculation on the other, how do these social interactions and exchanges actually happen in reality? Do the platforms guide the interactions? How do the exchanges differ from conventional market transactions?
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