Virtue, efficiency, and the sharing economy

Margie Borschke

doi:10.1002/9781119537151.ch8

Virtue, efficiency, and the sharing economy

Margie Borschke

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

110 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Peer production is assumed to be virtuous and public-spirited, a networked socio-economic system of production, that is efficient, promotes individual agency, harnesses collective knowledge, creates robust technologies and information and contributes to sustaining the public domain in the Internet era. This organizational innovation is also often associated with the rise of social networking technologies, practices and platforms in the 2000s and an ethos of participation, sharing and remix. Yet at the heart of key conceptualizations of peer production is a tension between virtue and pragmatism, between a belief that particular kinds of networked spaces and practices can enable the development of personal and social virtues and also be more efficient than other forms of production. This tension becomes more visible in the metaphor, practices and platforms of the sharing economy where ethical debates about agency, property, privacy and collective rights abound and where utopian rhetoric acts as a cover for the corporate drive for efficiency over ethical concerns. This chapter considers these tensions and how the ideals of peer production were shaped by their social and material histories.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	The handbook of peer production
Editors	Mathieu O'Neil, Christian Pentzold, Sophie Toupin
Place of Publication	Hoboken, USA
Publisher	John Wiley & Sons
Chapter	8
Pages	101-108
Number of pages	8
ISBN (Electronic)	9781119537090, 9781119537151
ISBN (Print)	9781119537106
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119537151.ch8
Publication status	Published - 2021

Publication series

Name	Global Handbooks in Media and Communication Research
Publisher	Wiley

Bibliographical note

Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
This is the author’s version of a chapter accepted for publication in the Handbook of Peer Production. Changes resulting from the publishing process such as copy-editing, typesetting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. This author manuscript version is available for personal, non-commercial and no derivative uses only.

Keywords

peer production
remix
sharing
metaphor
copy
piracy
internet culture
online collaboration
participatory media
rhetorical dimensions
sharing economy
utopian character

Access to Document

10.1002/9781119537151.ch8

Accepted author manuscriptAccepted author manuscript, 322 KBLicence: Other

Cite this

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title = "Virtue, efficiency, and the sharing economy",

abstract = "Peer production is assumed to be virtuous and public-spirited, a networked socio-economic system of production, that is efficient, promotes individual agency, harnesses collective knowledge, creates robust technologies and information and contributes to sustaining the public domain in the Internet era. This organizational innovation is also often associated with the rise of social networking technologies, practices and platforms in the 2000s and an ethos of participation, sharing and remix. Yet at the heart of key conceptualizations of peer production is a tension between virtue and pragmatism, between a belief that particular kinds of networked spaces and practices can enable the development of personal and social virtues and also be more efficient than other forms of production. This tension becomes more visible in the metaphor, practices and platforms of the sharing economy where ethical debates about agency, property, privacy and collective rights abound and where utopian rhetoric acts as a cover for the corporate drive for efficiency over ethical concerns. This chapter considers these tensions and how the ideals of peer production were shaped by their social and material histories.",

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Virtue, efficiency, and the sharing economy

Abstract

Publication series

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Beyond the cloud, across the data stream: a critical genealogy of network metaphors

Cite this

Virtue, efficiency, and the sharing economy

Abstract

Publication series

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

Beyond the cloud, across the data stream: a critical genealogy of network metaphors

Cite this