Abstract

“Sharing” is a misnomer when referring to activities frequently encountered in the collaborative economy. Where physical work is performed, platforms are accused of exploitation of vulnerable groups disadvantaged by recession and austerity; to whom, however, they also offer a lifeline. The rhetoric of “Social Europe” has too often been displaced by economic imperatives of growth and competitiveness. An opportunity may now be emerging for a more caring form of collaborative exchange in the field of labor responding to the “soft power” of the European Commission and to the self-interest of the platforms themselves.