The Third Industrial Revolution

by Jeremy Rifkin
This is a thought provoking book. It maps out a vision for a way through the current climate change problems facing the human race. It does not shy away from the enormity of this challenge and neither does it descent into a doomsday mentality. It is founded in practical case studies that Rifkin is involved with around the globe and the five pillars that he sets out as the bedrock of the third revolution are practical and in many cases well on the way to fruition.
I did have problems with a couple of issues. The first was in chapter eight where Rifkin examines education and changes that need to be made. He suggests that there needs to be a change to collaborative thinking and a working for the common good(my interpretation). There seems to be a belief (hope) that the younger generations will adopt this as a normal way of working. I have trouble reconciling this with my experience which is that there will always be somebody who will see a chance to maximise personal return, albeit at the expense of the majority. I readily accept this may be due to a dose of Calvin in my youth tempered by later Darwin!
Secondly, Rifkin alludes to but did not deal with the problem of the North-South divide. It is a great aspiration to state that the developing countries may leapfrog the developed nations in the roll out of renewable energies etc. but it is hard to see the developed nations letting that happen without a fight. The step back from committment to a green agenda-see recent cuts by the UK and French governments in these areas-suggests that GDP growth will remain the driving force of these nations at any cost.
I applaud the ideas of this book but find it hard to share Mr. Rifkin's optimism for the future of our species. I hope to attend the World forum in Lille later this year and will be interested to hear an update from Jeremy Rifkin on the current state of our planet. I would thoroughly recommend reading this book. 9/10