The 2007 book Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge addresses this topic from a science fiction perspective. A major plot element is the ability of individuals to enter

The 2007 book Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge addresses this topic from a science fiction perspective. A major plot element is the ability of individuals to enter into "affliances": digital, automatically-escrowed contracts between individuals providing small services in networks created on-demand to produce larger-scale goods and services. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbows_End https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbows_End (copied my past comment at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7287584 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7287584) Also, here's a related past HN thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7287155 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7287155