A mass movement for cyberspace is still hard to see. Unlike the masses during the industrial age, this rising Third Wave constituency is highly diverse. Like the economic sectors it serves, it is demassified – composed of individuals who prize their differences. This very heterogeneity contributes to its lack of political awareness. It is far harder to unify than the masses of the past. Yet there are key themes on which this constituency-to-come can agree. To start with, liberation from the Second Wave rules, regulations, taxes and laws laid in place to serve the smokestack barons and bureaucrats of the past. Next, of course, must come the creation of a new civilization, founded in eternal truths of the American Idea. It is time to embrace these challenges, to grasp the future and pull ourselves forward.
Predictor: Dyson, Esther
Prediction, in context:The 1994 book “The Information Revolution,” edited by Donald Altschiller, carries a reprint of the Fall 1994, New Perspectives Quarterly article “Magna Carta for the Knowledge Age,” by social critics Esther Dyson, George Gilder, Jay Keyworth and Alvin Toffler. They write: ÒA mass movement for cyberspace is still hard to see. Unlike the masses during the industrial age, this rising Third Wave constituency is highly diverse. Like the economic sectors it serves, it is demassified – composed of individuals who prize their differences. This very heterogeneity contributes to its lack of political awareness. It is far harder to unify than the masses of the past. Yet there are key themes on which this constituency-to-come can agree. To start with, liberation from the Second Wave rules, regulations, taxes and laws laid in place to serve the smokestack barons and bureaucrats of the past. Next, of course, must come the creation of a new civilization, founded in eternal truths of the American Idea. It is time to embrace these challenges, to grasp the future and pull ourselves forward. If we do so, we will indeed renew the American Dream and enhance the promise of American life.Ó
Biography:Esther Dyson was founding editor of Release 1.0 and a consultant and expert on computing and high-tech applications. She served as the president of EDventure Holdings. She founded the PC Forum, an annual conference and industry event. She had the highest profile of the women of technology in the 1990s. (Futurist/Consultant.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Global Relationships/Politics
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: The Information Revolution (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: Magna Carta for the Knowledge Age
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Pages 64, 65
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne