sharing economy
Access over ownership
The sharing economy is a system where individuals rent, share, or exchange goods and services directly with each other, typically through online platforms.
Rather than buying assets outright, people pay for temporary access: Airbnb and Uber are pillars of the sharing economy.
The term emerged in the 2010s alongside apps that connected owners of underused resources—cars, spare rooms, tools—with people who needed them briefly.
Critics note that "sharing" often means commercial transactions between strangers, not neighborly generosity.
Short-term rental service
- UberApp-summoned car service
- LyftRide-summoning service
- TaskRabbitFreelance errand platform
- UpworkFreelancer hiring website
Fiverr · Instacart · DoorDash · Craigslist · eBay · Poshmark · Rover · marketplace
Joint action toward shared aims
- communalShared by a community
- mutual aidCooperative community support
- cooperativeJointly operated enterprise
- cohousingIntentional community with shared amenities
collective ownership · commons · participation · reciprocity · social capital · freecycle · community building
Mutual giving and receiving
- rentalPaid temporary use
- lendingTemporary provision of resources
- borrowingTemporary taking of another's
- swapExchange one for another
trade · barter · transactions · decentralized · trust · reputation · host · guest
Self-employed service provider
- contractorHired construction professional
- side hustleSecondary income venture
- 1099Non-employee income document
- flexible hoursAdjustable work schedule
self-employed · independent · on-demand · service provider · tasker · driver · monetization · part-time
Employ something again
- waste reductionDecreasing material for disposal
- tool libraryShared equipment lending service
- eco-friendlyNot harming the environment
- declutteringEliminating unnecessary possessions
Airbnb
Short-term rental service
- UberApp-summoned car service
- LyftRide-summoning service
- TaskRabbitFreelance errand platform
Upwork · Fiverr · Instacart · DoorDash · Craigslist · eBay · Poshmark · Rover · marketplace · digital marketplace
cooperation
Joint action toward shared aims
- communalShared by a community
- mutual aidCooperative community support
- cooperativeJointly operated enterprise
cohousing · collective ownership · commons · participation · reciprocity · social capital · freecycle · community building
exchange
Mutual giving and receiving
- rentalPaid temporary use
- lendingTemporary provision of resources
- borrowingTemporary taking of another's
swap · trade · barter · transactions · decentralized · trust · reputation · host · guest · renter
freelancer
Self-employed service provider
- contractorHired construction professional
- side hustleSecondary income venture
- 1099Non-employee income document
flexible hours · self-employed · independent · on-demand · service provider · tasker · driver · monetization · part-time · piecework
reuse
Employ something again
- waste reductionDecreasing material for disposal
- tool libraryShared equipment lending service
- eco-friendlyNot harming the environment
- Alternative Economicsbarter, barter system, collectivism, communal living, communes
- business trendsagile, AI, analytics, big data, blockchain
- economic systemscapitalism, mercantilism, communism, feudalism, socialism
- economiesprivate sector, public sector, developing nation, emerging market, pre-industrial
- informal economiesbarter, bartering, swap, trade networks, barter systems
- Platform Economymarketplace, network effects, digital marketplaces, Uber, Lyft
sharing economytraditional ownership
Historically recognized property rights
private ownership · sole proprietorship · individual ownership · property ownership · consumerism
sharing economycorporate capitalism
Economy ruled by corporations
industrial economy · retail economy · vertical integration · command economy
sharing economyconspicuous consumption
Flaunting wealth through purchases
planned obsolescence · scarcity mindset · throwaway culture · consumerism · hoarding
economy, shared, sharing, shares, economical, economics, economize, economist, unshared