Financial independence, a positive consequence of the uberization of society

We live in a time of extremely rapid technological, economic and social transition. In less than 20 years, shortly after the advent of the Internet, our world has completely changed the way it works, at every level.

The Elance platform was already launched in 1999. Although it is relatively unknown to the public, it nevertheless laid the foundations of a system of sharing services for remuneration well before anyone else. The first freelancers of the Net-economy were beginning to appear at that time. For a good number of them, it was a way to supplement the income from a main activity, for others, more rare, it was already a way to live differently, that is to say without a dependent lucrative activity.

Also early on, in 2003, Jules K. Beck, an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas, published the theory of independent labor. He argued that advances in technology, combined with the globalization of industrial and commercial activity, are leading to the development of an independent and highly skilled workforce, significantly changing the relationship between employers and employees.

The technological means were already present, the sociological theory too, but the emergence of this independent qualified workforce remained marginal. It was not until the financial and economic crisis linked to subprimes, in 2007, that the phenomenon exploded. Paradoxically, it was thanks to the unemployment caused by the explosion of the financial system that the workforce had to leave its comfort zone and seek new alternatives. And it was only then that it really turned to technological means, which had already been present for several years.

It is no coincidence that Airbnb and Uber emerged in 2008 and 2009, in the midst of chaos. The technology was already there, and demand was finally exploding. It would take until 2014 for Maurice Lévy to put a popular term on this phenomenon, speaking of uberization. But in truth, it was not Uber who initiated this dynamic and it was not Lévy who was the first to describe it. We saw this with the examples of Elance and Jules Beck above.

Around the same time as Airbnb and Uber, more and more blogs and sites dedicated to financial independence began to emerge. They too "benefited" from the subprime crisis. In many ways, this boom is based on the same mechanisms of uberization of our society. They use the Internet to allow the exchange of financial skills. Users of these independent financial sites benefit from a free or low-cost service (compared to traditional financial intermediaries). Use is simple, popularized and fast.

Just like Uber and Airbnb, this is not an employer/employee relationship but a customer/supplier relationship. Labor law, social security and taxes are severely limited or non-existent.

Internet platforms dedicated to financial independence, like Uberized services, increase the possibilities of generating additional income and reduce the risk associated with the loss of a dependent lucrative activity. They also offer more flexibility in the organization of working time and greater autonomy.

Today, banks are still relatively safe from this phenomenon. Most people still trust their banker to invest their money (despite everything the system has already made them endure...). But who knows, one day, perhaps wealth managers will have to take to the streets to protest with taxis against the Uberization of society...