Can We Afford the Ownership Economy?

The ownership economy thesis is that value in past web platforms — Wikipedia, YouTube, Twitter, Peer-to-peer networks/marketplaces, etc — is generated by users who never retain any of it. Users contribute value, but they don’t capture it.

As large platforms get richer off their users’ personal data and time, people are trying to regain control. We spent the last fifteen years working for gig money, likes, retweets, or follows. The platforms gave us reputation or cash, but no ownership, upside, or voice in its evolution.

The divide between those who do and don’t own capital is an important driver of widening wealth inequality [50]. Forms of accessible co-ownership could be an antidote to chronic wage stagnation and anxieties about job-replacing automation.