The Zero Marginal Cost Society: The Internet of Things, the Collaborative Commons, and the Eclipse of Capitalism by Jeremy Rifkin Page A
Authors: Jeremy Rifkin
Ads: Link
internet of things, the collaborative commons, and the eclipse of capitalism / Jeremy Rifkin.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-137-27846-3 (alk. paper)
1. Capitalism. 2. Cost. 3. Cooperation. I. Title.
HB501.R555 2014
330.12’6—dc23
2013033940
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Letra Libre
First edition: April 2014
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Lisa Mankowsky and Shawn Moorhead for the extraordinary work they did in overseeing and editing The Zero Marginal Cost Society. Virtually every book is a collaborative effort. An author’s effectiveness depends, to a great extent, on the individuals who work with him in the preparation of a manuscript. Mr. Moorhead and Ms. Mankowsky are a dream team. Mr. Moorhead paid particular attention to ensuring the proper integration of themes and conceptual details throughout the book. Ms. Mankowsky focused on ensuring a smooth editorial flow throughout the narrative and consistency in the presentation. Their dedication to the project, keen editorial advice, and wise counsel were instrumental in shaping the final content. Their contributions can be found on every page of the final book.
I would also like to thank Christian Pollard, who not only assisted in the editorial preparation of the book, but who also developed an elegant marketing and outreach campaign for its publication.
We had the opportunity of working with some very talented interns during the two-year preparation of The Zero Marginal Cost Society. Their contributions added significantly to the value of the final work. Thanks to Dan Michell, Alexandra Martin, Jared Madden, Elizabeth Ortega, James Partlow, Shuyang “Cherry” Yu, James Najarian, Daniel McGowan, Gannon McHenry, Kevin Gardner, Justin Green, and Stan Kozlowski.
I’d also like to thank my editor, Emily Carleton, at Palgrave Macmillan, for her enthusiasm for the project and her many insightful editorial suggestions along the way that helped hone the manuscript. Thanks to my publisher, Karen Wolny, for her unflagging support throughout the process.
Finally, as always, I’d like to thank my wife, Carol Grunewald, for the many fruitful conversations during the preparation of the book that helped shape my thinking and tighten the arguments in the text. Quite frankly, Carol is the best editor and wordsmith I’ve ever known.
Writing this book was a pleasure and a true labor of love. I hope readers will enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Chapter One
The Great
Paradigm Shift from
Market Capitalism to the Collaborative Commons
T he capitalist era is passing . . . not quickly, but inevitably. A new economic paradigm—the Collaborative Commons—is rising in its wake that will transform our way of life. We are already witnessing the emergence of a hybrid economy, part capitalist market and part Collaborative Commons. The two economic systems often work in tandem and sometimes compete. They are finding synergies along each other’s perimeters, where they can add value to one another, while benefiting themselves. At other times, they are deeply adversarial, each attempting to absorb or replace the other.
The struggle between these two competing economic paradigms is going to be protracted and hard fought. But, even at this very early stage, what is becoming increasingly clear is that the capitalist system that provided both a compelling narrative of human nature and the overarching organizational framework for the day-to-day commercial, social, and political life of society—spanning more than ten generations—has peaked and begun its slow decline. While I suspect that capitalism will remain part of the social schema for at least the next half century or so, I doubt that it will be the dominant economic paradigm by the second half of thetwenty-first century. Although the indicators of the great transformation to a new economic system are
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-137-27846-3 (alk. paper)
1. Capitalism. 2. Cost. 3. Cooperation. I. Title.
HB501.R555 2014
330.12’6—dc23
2013033940
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Letra Libre
First edition: April 2014
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Lisa Mankowsky and Shawn Moorhead for the extraordinary work they did in overseeing and editing The Zero Marginal Cost Society. Virtually every book is a collaborative effort. An author’s effectiveness depends, to a great extent, on the individuals who work with him in the preparation of a manuscript. Mr. Moorhead and Ms. Mankowsky are a dream team. Mr. Moorhead paid particular attention to ensuring the proper integration of themes and conceptual details throughout the book. Ms. Mankowsky focused on ensuring a smooth editorial flow throughout the narrative and consistency in the presentation. Their dedication to the project, keen editorial advice, and wise counsel were instrumental in shaping the final content. Their contributions can be found on every page of the final book.
I would also like to thank Christian Pollard, who not only assisted in the editorial preparation of the book, but who also developed an elegant marketing and outreach campaign for its publication.
We had the opportunity of working with some very talented interns during the two-year preparation of The Zero Marginal Cost Society. Their contributions added significantly to the value of the final work. Thanks to Dan Michell, Alexandra Martin, Jared Madden, Elizabeth Ortega, James Partlow, Shuyang “Cherry” Yu, James Najarian, Daniel McGowan, Gannon McHenry, Kevin Gardner, Justin Green, and Stan Kozlowski.
I’d also like to thank my editor, Emily Carleton, at Palgrave Macmillan, for her enthusiasm for the project and her many insightful editorial suggestions along the way that helped hone the manuscript. Thanks to my publisher, Karen Wolny, for her unflagging support throughout the process.
Finally, as always, I’d like to thank my wife, Carol Grunewald, for the many fruitful conversations during the preparation of the book that helped shape my thinking and tighten the arguments in the text. Quite frankly, Carol is the best editor and wordsmith I’ve ever known.
Writing this book was a pleasure and a true labor of love. I hope readers will enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Chapter One
The Great
Paradigm Shift from
Market Capitalism to the Collaborative Commons
T he capitalist era is passing . . . not quickly, but inevitably. A new economic paradigm—the Collaborative Commons—is rising in its wake that will transform our way of life. We are already witnessing the emergence of a hybrid economy, part capitalist market and part Collaborative Commons. The two economic systems often work in tandem and sometimes compete. They are finding synergies along each other’s perimeters, where they can add value to one another, while benefiting themselves. At other times, they are deeply adversarial, each attempting to absorb or replace the other.
The struggle between these two competing economic paradigms is going to be protracted and hard fought. But, even at this very early stage, what is becoming increasingly clear is that the capitalist system that provided both a compelling narrative of human nature and the overarching organizational framework for the day-to-day commercial, social, and political life of society—spanning more than ten generations—has peaked and begun its slow decline. While I suspect that capitalism will remain part of the social schema for at least the next half century or so, I doubt that it will be the dominant economic paradigm by the second half of thetwenty-first century. Although the indicators of the great transformation to a new economic system are
Similar Books
The Evil That Men Do: FBI Profiler Roy Hazelwood's Journey Into the Minds of Sexual Predators
Stephen G. Michaud, Roy Hazelwood
