On "The gig diseconomy: parasites are killing freelance marketplaces"

Calling low-price competitors "parasites" is a way to avoid the harder truth: race-to-the-bottom pricing in freelance marketplaces is a market structure problem, not a character problem. When platforms make their money on transaction volume and the barrier to entry is basically zero, undercutting becomes rational survival, not malice. SEO shops and agencies complaining about cheap competition need to either compete on quality and outcomes (which means higher prices and better client screening) or accept they're in a commoditized business. The marketplace didn't create the parasites—the marketplace created the incentives that make parasitism profitable.