Tata, the giant Indian-owned conglomerate, has announced the closure of its steel plants in Britain, with a resultant 1,200 jobs to be cut. This latest episode in the crisis of the British steel industry is yet another stark reminder of the decrepit nature of British capitalism and of the contradictions within the wider world economy.

In the final part of his series on the rise of the sharing economy, Adam Booth reviews Paul Mason’s new book, PostCapitalism, about the impact of information technology and its contradictory contribution within the crisis-ridden capitalism system. How can we truly utilise the abundance of technology and wealth we see around us today?

In the second part of his article on the rise of the sharing economy, Adam Booth examines the impact that new technologies and business models will have on the nature of work and jobs. The trend under capitalism is towards more precarious employment and rising inequality.