It is not hard to find evidence of the success of the "sharing economy", in which people rent beds, cars and other underused assets directly from each other, co-ordinated via the internet. One pointer is the burgeoning of demand and supply. Airbnb, founded in San Francisco in 2008, claims that 11m people have used its website to find a place to stay. Lyft, a company that matches people needing rides and drivers wanting a few dollars, has spread from San Francisco to 30-odd American cities. Another sign is the frothy values bestowed on sharing-econ-omy companies: Airbnb is reckoned to be worth $10 billion, more than hotel chains such as Hyatt and Wyndham, and Lyft recently raised $25om from venture capitalists. But perhaps the most flattering-and least welcome-indicator of the sharing economy's rise is the energy being devoted by governments, courts and competitors to thwarting it (see page 51).
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