Rhetorical Arbitrage: The Rhetoric of the Sharing Economy

Abstract

Abstract This article extends the growing conversation on the rhetoric of economics through a critical analysis of the rhetoric of the “sharing economy” firm Uber. After reconfiguring the economic concept of arbitrage from a rhetorical perspective, I demonstrate the means by which “ride sharing” services exploit their customers and workers. Ultimately, I contend that Uber’s rhetoric works by deploying the language of the private sphere in order that the company can operate like a taxi company even as it evades the obligations that ordinarily attach to providing taxi service to the public.