Conservatives should champion the free-market system of the peer-production economy, R Street study finds
WASHINGTON (September 22, 2014) – Regulation of the “peer production” or “sharing” economy can be a good political issue for both the left and the right, argue R Street President Eli Lehrer and R Street Executive Director Andrew Moylan in a new paper.
Published in the Fall 2014 edition of National Affairs, the authors discuss the emergence of the economy using examples from companies like Fiverr, eBay, Etsy, Lyft, Sidecar, Uber and Airbnb, arguing that barriers to future growth of these and similar companies stem primarily from archaic laws, professional licensure, torts and taxes.
“In the abstract, the best way forward in many of these markets would be comprehensive reform that makes it easier for small businesses to operate across the board, not just in the peer-production economy,” write the authors. “Where reasonable, lawmakers should try to model peer-production regulations on the existing rules for comparable services.”
The authors write that the legislative and regulatory issues raised by the peer-production economy could be a godsend to the political right, as eliminating the barriers to the market all figure highly on the agenda of many free-market advocates.
“To date, however, the peer-production sector has not engaged the political right, and many of its strongest proponents have come from the political left,” say the authors, while noting that the organizations themselves tend to lean left as well. This is primarily because peer-production companies cultivate a young, hip, urban vibe that clashes with much of the Republican Party’s older, overwhelmingly white, largely suburban and rural base.
The authors note that the cultural distance between some conservatives and the peer-production economy should not be seen as a huge problem. Almost none of it results from any fundamental difference with regard to public policy. More importantly, political liberals will not be keen to pursue anti-regulatory, free-market policies against which their core constituencies rail.
“While both sides face significant political challenges and both have much to lose, their free-market economics and hands-off approach to regulation make conservatives the natural champions of the new peer-production economy, and they should capitalize on the opportunity,” write the authors.
The study can be found in its entirety at: http://www.rstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/20140918_Lehrer.Moylan.pdf
