Success was once defined as being able to stay at a company for a long time and move up the corporate ladder. The goal was to reach the top, accumulate wealth and retire to a life of ease. My father is a successful senior executive. In 35 years, he worked for only three companies.

        When I started my career, things were already different. If you weren’t changing companies every three or four years, you simply weren’t getting ahead in your career. But back then, if you were a consultant or freelancer (自由职业者), people would wonder what was wrong with you. They would assume you had problems getting a job.

        Today, consulting or freelancing for five businesses at the same time is a badge of honor. It shows how valuable an individual is. Many companies now look to these “ultimate professionals” to solve problems their full-time teams can’t. Or they save money by hiring “top-tier (顶尖的) experts” only for particular projects.

        Working at home or in cafes, starting businesses of their own, and even launching business ventures that eventually may fail, all indicate “initiative,” “creativity,” and “adaptability,” which are desirable qualities in today’s workplace. Most important, there is a growing recognition that people who balance work and play, and who work at what they are passionate about, are more focused and productive, delivering greater value to their clients.

        Who are these people? They are artists, writers, programmers, providers of office services and career advice. What’s needed now is a marketplace platform specifically designed to bring freelancers and clients together. Such platforms then become a place to feature the most experienced, professional, and creative talent. This is where they conduct business, where a sense of community reinforces the culture and values of the gig economy (零工经济), and where success is rewarded with good reviews that encourage more business.

        Slowly but surely, these platforms create a bridge between traditional enterprises and this emerging economy. Perhaps more important, as the global economy continues to be disrupted by technology and other massive change, the gig economy will itself become an engine of economic and social transformation.

解析：D。根据题干中的gig economy可定位至原文最后两段。最后一段第二句提到，随着全球经济持续受到技术和其他大规模变革的影响，零工经济本身将成为促进经济转型和社会转型的一大动力。D项与此内容相符，其中的radical economic and social changes是对最后一段第二句中economic and social transformation的同义替换，故D项为正确答案。

错项排除：A项中的business practice在原文中无依据，故排除。原文中只是说零工经济会促进经济转型和社会转型，并没有说它会很快取代传统的经济模式，B项属于过度引申，故排除。C项利用原文中的global和technology设置干扰，但这里说的是全球经济受到技术影响这一时代背景，并没有说零工经济会在全球范围内推动技术进步，故排除C项。