Shoshana Zuboff on the Sharing Economy

I. Digital Disruption

Are Germany and Europe behind the curve in digital disruption? Earlier this year Volkmar Denner, the CEO of Bosch, told the Financial Times:  “Uber is not a revolutionary technology, it’s a business model innovation — and there we are not good enough yet…That’s where I see the biggest threat.” There’s also been quite a lot of material coming out of the European Commission and other sources on the need for more digital disruption in Europe. Is Mr. Denner correct?  Should Germany and Europe imitate the Uber model? Is it a model that will drive economic history?  Will it make our societies more prosperous?  More democratic?