Philipp Kristian Diekhöner, who is one of the most brilliant economic minds of the 21st century, had once said: “From a trust-building angle, being humane (warmth) and delivering on promises (competence) are critical components of trust-building processes.” The P2P economy perfectly embodies this very notion as the level of personal engagement between the merchant and the consumer as seen by Uber, Lyft, Airbnb and several other firms. Today I’m going to explain to you why the peer to peer economy will flourish in the future.
primarily I would delineate the higher efficiency due to decentralisation and the high level of trust generated amongst the merchant and the consumer. Through the economic eye, the high efficiency is achieved through the eradication of the red tape in order to create a system of open and continuous communication between peers within the economy. The peer to peer economy bolsters the transition from conglomerate to local commerce and hence leads to a more personalised and pragmatic approach towards each sale.
I am not only advocating the p2p economy due to the financial benefits it poses to the population but also due to the fact that the current consumerist ecosystem and mindset has immeasurable and intangible and unbelievably negative effects on the human psyche.As said by Noam Chomsky who is the father of modern linguistics and one of the very founders of cognitive science, “All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume”. The p2p economy eradicates this as this allows for institutional company advertising but rather promotes a sense of fulfilment by encouraging business or commerce with local or individual manufacturers. The p2p economy will hence not only transform the lives of small business owners but would also have an immeasurably positive effect on our economic culture and commerce. Whereas with the current economic system, extreme inefficiency is highly prevalent as seen by the high level of wastage created by the current economy. In 2020, it had reached record levels of 1.3 billion tonnes of waste and this is willing to rise up to 2.2 billion tonnes by 2025. The opposition may argue that the p2p economy would not reap the benefits of the economies of scale and hence fail to provide standard product pricing and services. However, the p2p economy actually balances the overconsumption and production that is currently taking place due to the economies of scale of large multinational firms.
My third contention lies in an extremely prevalent yet frightening notion; fraud. Our very own economic system currently promotes the utilisation of middlemen and brokers that charge a hefty fee ranging from approximately 1 to 2%, which can amount to trillions of dollars for the economy in a year. This undue burden on the buyer and the seller but the current economic system is stagnating due to the grip that these powerful group of middlemen pose, obstructing small business owners and worthy individuals from getting the financial aid they require. The P2P economy pioneers in its effort to solve its problems through the creation of trust within all industries. If you get the chance to converse with the man on 888 Brannan street who built the empire of AirBnB he would tell you ““Strangers will never trust one another,” people said. But we believed that people are fundamentally good and that we could design a system for strangers to trust one another.” That quotation encapsulates the trust and faith built between the peers in a p2p economy and hence justifies the claims made that trust may be built and may aid the economy by helping it thrive. The p2p economy will help return faith to individuals instead of institutions spurring local markets into systemically sustainable financial ecosystems where mutual trust between consumers and merchants is fostered.
Many are under the impression that a peer to peer economy may be unable to take charge and be viable in the long run but what they fail to take into account and what our fourth contention is about, is the current p2p market system that has been thriving for decades. Ladies and gentlemen the p2p market system is not about the abolition or the destruction or abrogation of industries. My colleagues in the proposition today aren't arguing for the shuttering of large institutions and companies today. I am merely stating the need to strike a balance between commerce between large globalised entities while continuing to value and work with individuals. I hence place faith in the p2p economy as it helps support the small scale merchants and helps them break free from the vicious cycle of poverty. The p2p lending market provides a solution to the lack of transparency through large firms such as Avant that offer a transparent model built on algorithms and AI that will ensure that you don’t suffer blindly from the high fees imposed by brokers. The p2p economy crusades against corruption and malpractice as it celebrates clean systemic individual lending preventing companies from using loopholes and create individual wealth for owners through malpractice and fraud. This provides a sense of security and builds trust. The Modi we all know really well, not the one who runs the nation but Nirav Modi who laundered over 1400 crore rupees through banks by taking advantage of the veil offered by them. The p2p economy prevents companies from operating in such bad faith and being used as gimmicks to launder money and create individual wealth for the owners instead of the organisations through local markets instead of large firms and companies.
Finally, I would like to take a look at the unjust system of today that promotes inequality between the masses and the abuse of power that several large scale firms have over the common man. Many may state that the p2p economy limits ambition and the availability of high-quality mass-consumed standard products. However, the p2p economy provides a more sustainable path to the vision of building global brands and achieving mainstream market presence. It breaks the shackles of employees liberating millions from the oppressive nature of the firms that promote malpractice and fraud; the egalitarian economy could bolster the smaller organisations that are prevalent in society and enable them to have an opportunity to liberate themselves from the intangible nature of the consumerist economy.
Please do not be deceived into thinking that I am promoting the absolute abolishment of the current extremely effective economy as I merely advocate for the rise of the peer to peer economy alongside the pre-established consumerist society not only in one city or one state or one nation but the whole world in its entirety as it boasts higher levels of sustainability, trustworthiness and efficiency.
