Rating: 
Summary: No pat answers, well worth the read..
Review: "We are entering a new age of global markets and automated production. The road to a near-workerless economy is within sight. Whether that road leads to a safe haven or a terrible abyss will depend on how well civilization prepares for the post-market era that will follow on the heels of the Third Industrial Revolution. The end of work could spell a death sentence for civilization as we have come to know it. The end of work could also signal the beginning of a great social transformation, a rebirth of the human spirit. The future lies in our hands." Thus ends the book, leaving no neat little answers - negative OR positive, but urging us to open our eyes and look around us. I'd seen him on C-span and promptly ordered his book through Amazon. This was when it first came out in hardcover and my oldest son, assured of a future work using skills from his newly obtained Masters in Computer Science, was concerned I was reading such a book. "Isn't he one of those Luddites?" I think of myself as a wanna be Luddite, but I saw no signs of this in the book. Instead, Rifkin seems to be concerned with the coming affects of the Informational Revolution. The book begins with a history of the Industrial Revolution. He gives us a nice tour of the birth of materialism as a concept created and promoted by economists and businessmen. "The term 'consumption," he tells us, "has both English and French roots. In its original form, to consume meant to destroy, to pillage, to subdue, to exhaust. It is a word steeped in violence and until the present century had only negative connotations." The chapter, "Technology and the Afro-American Experience," addresses the effects of slavery, the supposed freedom of sharecropping, the loss of jobs as a consequence of the invention of the mechanical cotton picker, the rush to the cities and the subsequent loss of jobs as technology slowly progressed. There is a correlation to the success of whichever modern day technology we are experiencing, and the situation in the inner-cities. "Today, millions of African-Americans find themselves hopelesly trapped in a permanent underclass. Unskilled and unneeded, the commodity value of their labor has been rendered virtually useless by the automated technologies that have come to displace them in the new high-tech global economy." One chapter is entitled "No More Farmers" and discusses the advances of robotizing replacing tasks such as harvesting and livestock management, as well as the end of outdoor agriculture. Other chapters deal with the future for retail, service, blue collar jobs, the declining middle class and the growing chasm between the haves and the have-nots. In the chapter titled, "A More Dangerous World," he cites the Merva and Fowles study, saying that it "showed a striking correlation between growing wage inequality and increased criminal activity." "Rising unemployment and loss of hope for a better future are among the reasons that tens of thousands of young teenagers are turning to a life of crime and violence." He does point out that the explosion of the Third Revolution is going to make the social wounds we've tried to heal seem like paper cuts, but does not claim that we should unhook our computers and resist the revolutionary explosion. His suggestion is that we work on 'empowering' the Third Sector' - the independent sector - and turn back to community, to helping each other before it is too late. " A new generation might transcend the narrow limits of nationalism and begin to think and act as common memebers of the human race, with shared commitments to each other, the community, and the larger biosphere." He does offer that since hi-tech advances may mean fewer jobs in the market economy, the only way to make sure those whose jobs are lost will be compensated is to have the government supply compensation. Naturally, this gives a flash-back to the welfare system, which I think has freaked out a few reviewers, paralyzing them into a sort of retro response. But Rifkin isn't just talking about the recipients of old - those stereotypical lower-income, under-educated inner city folks, he's talking about many more people. In my family, my middle son is a hands on kind of worker who in the past might have been a farmer. No matter how much education he gets, he isn't one of those who will sit well in the new techno age, and already he's feeling the pressures. The high paying jobs for him are life-threatening, so the kind of work he's hired for is low paying, not enough to support himself, let alone the family he has decided he can't afford to start. Rifkin isn't doing retro work - he suggests tying the subsidized income to service in the community, which he suggests migh help the "growth and development of the social economy and facilitate the long-term transition into a community-centered, service-oriented culture." His answers are not clearly spelled out - he offers suggestions and insight into where we might be going as a race (the human race). The truth is, we all need to ask some questions and help find the answers. For those whose minds are set firmly in any direction, you'll get from this book very little - for those with open minds, regardless of your political view of the world, you may find this to be a door to the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Everyday more relevant.
Review: Amazon does not allow to scale a book differently for the message and for the way the message is brought. For the message I would give a 5 , for the way a 4, for the solutions a 3.
The theme brought is one of the principal societal trends of today and debit to the current economic crisis. The decline of the working middle class and work as the core of wealth, is becoming inescapable for anyone reading the economic pages in the newspapers or making a living by working in a corporation (I am an ERP consultant). A book written before 1995 has become even more actual in 2003, the temporary relief during the 4 bubble years 98-01 notwithstanding, the economy is a Medusa raft. Why Gore was not allowed or not finding funding to make it a campaing theme is a perfectly understandable drama.
The way it is brought: most of the evidence and working out of the theme is anecdotal and circumstantial, that makes for interesting and fast reading but leaves you without the solidity of scientific proof. There are no statistics, no graphs, no formulas, nothing of the kind. I did not need convincing of the truth of what is happening and those who are not will not by statistics or facts alone, but I like scientifically verifiable facts and figures.
The solutions: undoubtably the non-market sector, guaranteed annual income and income transfers will have to play a role and Rifkin sites a wealth of names and studies supporting this. What I want to see are figures showing how it all adds up: how much redistribution, what are the required tax levels, what are the income levels needed to sustain a 'volunteer' middleclass, what are the permissable income gaps to make it work ?
Rating:
Summary: Trends are insightful, recommendations interesting.
Review: As with many futurists, their analysis of trends are insightful and can provide a glimpse of the future; however, often their glimpses are of the extreme nature. Having studied trends regarding the advancement of technology, I came to the same conclusion Rifkin did, that sooner or later work and income must be disassociated with one another. A guaranteed income is one answer to this. Just as wage labor made no since in pre-industrial eras, so will wage labor make little since in futuristic economies. Societies that insist stubbornly to this notion are doomed for collapse. My concern with American society is that we won't make this jump until economic catastrophe hits us. Just as it took a Great Depression to convince policy makers that the Federal Govt. did have a role in preventing poverty to occur through social insurance mechanism, so to will it take an economic upheaval to convince the populace that wage labor as a primary means of allocating income in this society is antiquated and cannot continue.
Rating:
Summary: This book will open your eyes.
Review: Do you have thought the future of civilization? The author pointed on the future of the work in civilization. Some people may think the author's opinion is too pessimistic to agree with his opinions. I think, however, the author's ideas are very great because he analyzed the roots of work and he continued an objective view in this book. According to the author's view, the work is related with not only the labor itself, but information technology, social changes and organization systems and so on. He did not said about the mass production work, nor lean production work. He make an effort to say about the directions of work changes, the counterproposal of idal work. For this objectives, he analysed various fields of knowledge: Information Technology, Sociology, Philosoghy, Economics, Business Administration and so on. If you have thirsty curiosity to the various Social Science or if you want to contact to the future of civilization, I tend to recommend this book without hesitation.
Rating:
Summary: This book will open your eyes.
Review: How many hours do you work a week? 44 hours? 40 hours? 30 hours? Or no work? Many people believe that the less we work, the more we are happy. However, is the labor time so important in future? Do you think it's very simple with the future of work? What's the most important thing with this subject? Do you have thought the future of civilization? The author pointed on the future of the work in civilization. Some people may think the author's opinion is too pessimistic to agree with his opinions. I think, however, the author's ideas are very great because he analyzed the roots of work and he continued an objective view in this book. According to the author's view, the work is related with not only the labor itself, but information technology, social changes and organization systems, Future Economics and so on. He did not said about the mass production work, nor lean production work. He make an effort to say about the directions of work changes, the counterproposal of idal work. For this objectives, he analysed various fields of knowledge: Information Technology, Sociology, Philosoghy, Economics, Business Administration and so on. If you have thirsty curiosity to the various Social Science or if you want to contact to the future of civilization, I tend to recommend this book without hesitation.
Rating:
Summary: This book will open your eyes.
Review: How many hours do you work a week? 44 hours? 40 hours? 30 hours? Or no work? Many people believe that the less we work, the more we are happy. However, is the labor time so important in future? Do you think it's very simple with the future of work? What's the most important thing with this subject? Do you have thought the future of civilization? The author pointed on the future of the work in civilization. Some people may think the author's opinion is too pessimistic to agree with his opinions. I think, however, the author's ideas are very great because he analyzed the roots of work and he continued an objective view in this book. According to the author's view, the work is related with not only the labor itself, but information technology, social changes and organization systems, Future Economics and so on. He did not said about the mass production work, nor lean production work. He make an effort to say about the directions of work changes, the counterproposal of idal work. For this objectives, he analysed various fields of knowledge: Information Technology, Sociology, Philosoghy, Economics, Business Administration and so on. If you have thirsty curiosity to the various Social Science or if you want to contact to the future of civilization, I tend to recommend this book without hesitation.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Compilation Of Labor History inAmerica
Review: I must admit that when I read this book, I was a bit dissappointed at the lack of new information. As a student of labor history, I had read previously many of the ideas and concepts that Rifkin expands upon in several other books. I only wished I had picked up this one book, prior to reading all the others. It would have saved me much time and money. In short, Rifkin decribes the transition of the worker from pre-industrial revolution, through the era of machines and mass-production, and the advent of the information age in which he predicts there will be fewer and fewer workers. His analysis describes how this effects the worker, organizational make-up, employment relationships, and even how government has been forced to change to accomodate the modern economy. I believe that anyone interested in the dynamics of technology and globalism on the workforce will find Rifkin's work very interesting, well-written, and easy to read.
Rating:
Summary: I didn't care because I still have a job, but now...
Review: If you are on the dole, this book is for you. You will discover you are part of an epochal turning point,and you'll feel more or less like a T-Rex seconds before the meteor collided with Earth causing his extinction. If you are not on the dole, the future will look slightly less bright.If you are more or less illiterate in economics, you will enjoy the historical part that's entertaining like no other book about this kind of subject can be. The solutions proposed at the end of the book can be appealing and are worth all our simpathy. Probably, if you are jobless or somewhat at risk, they are also a bit discouraging. But, as the book teaches us, the whole world is at risk. Happy new century to us all
Rating:
Summary: Over Rated; Over Didactic; Over the Top.
Review: If you want a real dystopean nightmare try Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut. This book is worth reading, and the storyline is supurb; there is suspence, pleasure and even horrer. It is slightly scary, when you think of how Communism did hit the nail on the head with this publication. What I found the most remarkable was how well thought out the whole system was truly amazing that he used such imagination to come up with all aspects of this book! Todays technology is overwhelming us at an extraordinary rate, and will lead to a horrible world, where its occupants are monitored constantly by hidden cameras or concealed microphones. The entire population has been brainwashed by the controlling story in which your heart goes out to a cautionary tale to prevent such a thing from ever happening. This is not only a book, but a journal for the future describing what the government could be doing behind our backs. This book will have a very big impact on you, and your life that many of the stroy's readers go through every day. Kudos!
Rating:
Summary: "All are punished."
Review: In this riviting, well documented dissertation, Rifkin underscores the imbalances of society created by the assult of the super-technocrats against humanity's workers. He weaves his magic through the annals of history even to the present, combining opinions and scenarios that support his view. His arguments are compelling and terrifying. Most interesting are Rifkin's solutions to the problems of this technological invasion. One solution is that everyone work less hours for more pay. This would free everyone to pursue more noble causes without pay. (Yea, Right!) As societies becomes more hedonistic, it is also unreasonable to believe, as Rifkin asserts, that volunteerism will increase to become the great social contract that will give meaning to the dislocted and disfranchised and ultimately save us all. The real solution? Buy a small acerage somewhere and learn to grow vegetables!
For a good contrasting view, read Bill Gate's book, THE ROAD AHEAD.
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