The document discusses the concept of a global sharing economy. It describes sharing as implying either ownership, such as with charity, or trusteeship over shared resources. Examples of sharing in nature include nutrient sharing between cells and plants freely distributing pollen and seeds. The document argues that policymaking assumes people are selfish and competitive, whereas a sharing economy could help create environmental sustainability and social justice. Some examples of sharing include agricultural lands held as commons, seed sharing among farmers, and collaborative consumption through peer-to-peer technology. The document outlines principles of global sharing and argues it could help address issues of poverty, environmental crises, and international conflicts over resources.

1. The global sharing
economy:
making the shift
Rajesh Makwana
27th August 2013
11th GCGI International Annual Conference, Cité Universitaire Internationale, Paris. www.stwr.org

2. What is economic sharing?
The global sharing economy: making the shift www.stwr.org
Sharing in terms of ‘giving’ implies
ownership:
• Charity
• Philanthropy
• Gift economies
• Reciprocity
We cannot give away a tangible
resource unless it belongs to us in
the first place.
Sharing in terms of ‘using jointly’ implies
trusteeship:
• The global commons
• Public goods and services
• National trusts
• Community assets
A shared resource is not necessarily
owned, given or received but can be
collectively managed and freely
accessible.

3. • Planet Earth as a self-regulating system
• Natural cycles and elements within the biosphere
• The cells of all living organisms share available nutrients
• Plants and flowers freely share their pollen and seeds
• Evidence of sharing in groups of highly social animals
Sharing in nature
…examples
The global sharing economy: making the shift www.stwr.org

4. Homo-economicus
The global sharing economy: making the shift www.stwr.org
Policymaking is:
• based on the assumption that
human beings are
selfish, competitive, acquisitive
and individualistic
• driven by the endless pursuit of
economic growth, profit and
wealth accumulation
Creating a world in which:
• market forces rather than human
need dictates the distribution of
resources, goods and services
• commercialisation has infiltrated
every aspect of our
lives, encouraging highly
individualistic and unsustainable
consumerist lifestyles
• natural resources are usurped at far
greater rates than they can be
replenished

5. Economic sharing:
Justice and sustainability
The global sharing economy: making the shift www.stwr.org
Economic sharing is about creating
environmentally sustainable systems
that deliver social and economic
justice.
It relates closely to the concepts of:
• Equality
• Human rights
• Universalism
• Trusteeship
• Common ownership
• Stewardship

6. Sharing in action
…examples
The global sharing economy: making the shift www.stwr.org
• Agricultural land was traditionally
shared/managed cooperatively
as a ‘commons’
• Saving and sharing seeds has
played an integral role in farming
• Transition towns, cooperatives,
conservation projects, alternative
currencies, and ‘trusts’ that
manage common-pool resources
• The sharing economy:
collaborative consumption, peer-
to-peer technology, open source
software development, gift
economies, time banking etc.
• Land value taxation as a form of
public revenue can share the value
of a country’s land more fairly with
citizens
• Participative democracy seeks to
share political power more equitably
with citizens
• Progressive taxation and public
spending is a complex form of
economic sharing whereby nations
redistribute financial resources for
the benefit of society as a whole

7. • Extending the concepts of justice, socio-economic rights and
environmental sustainability to include the entire community of nations
and the planet as a whole.
• Ensuring that people in all countries, including future generations, can
access what they need to survive and prosper without devastating the
planet in the process.
• Recognising that all people are part of an extended human family with
the same basic needs and rights, and establishing policies and
institutions at the global level that embody this understanding.
Global economic sharing
Key principles
The global sharing economy: making the shift www.stwr.org

8. • Poverty: 95% of people who live in developing countries survive on the
equivalent of less than $10 a day. Around 15 million people die needlessly
every year from a lack of access to essentials such as food, water and
healthcare.
• Environment: We consume natural resources 50% faster than the planet can
replenish them. 80% of all resources are consumed by the wealthiest 20% of
the world’s population, who are therefore responsible for the vast majority of
global warming.
• Conflict: At least 18 international conflicts have been triggered by competition
for resources since 1990, including the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The
possibility of future conflict remains very real, especially in light of a rising
world population, soaring global consumption rates, and rapidly disappearing
energy supplies.
The global emergency
…a snapshot
The global sharing economy: making the shift www.stwr.org

9. 1. If financial resources are redistributed or shared more equitably both within
and between nations, inequality could be reduced and extreme poverty
could be eliminated in a relatively short timeframe.
2. If the international community shared the world’s natural resources more
sustainably and equitably, it would be possible to regulate and equalise
consumption patterns across the world and bring emission levels to within
environmental limits.
3. Sharing rather than competing over the world’s natural resources could help
de-escalate conflict and increase international peace and security.
Sharing as a solution to global crises?
The global sharing economy: making the shift www.stwr.org

10. Campaigning for a fairer
sharing of wealth, power
and resources within and
between nations
www.stwr.org
The global sharing economy: making the shift www.stwr.org