A new approach to sharing

Lecture with Prof. Dr. Thomas Widlok, Universität zu Köln 

When we realize that in modern economic systems only a minority of people makes a living by directly selling their labour to purchase what they need, we also recognize the need for a better understanding of non-market modes of transfer. So far, anthropology has focused on gift-exchange as the major alternative form of transfer but there is now a growing interest in sharing, not only since the so-called "sharing economy" has been widely discussed. In this paper I sketch the differences between gift-exchange and sharing theory, suggesting a new theoretical approach to sharing which I have developed in my recent book "Anthropology and the Economy of Sharing". I also revisit some of the phenomena typically covered under the notion of "sharing economy" in the light of this new theoretical approach.