The reality is that a Third Wave government will be vastly smaller (perhaps by 50 percent or more) than the current one – this is an inevitable implication of the transition from the centralized power structures of the industrial age to the dispersed, decentralized power structures of the Third. But smaller government does not imply weak government; nor does arguing for smaller government require being against government for narrowly ideological reasons.
Predictor: Dyson, Esther
Prediction, in context:The 1995 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: ÒThe reality is that a Third Wave government will be vastly smaller (perhaps by 50 percent or more) than the current one – this is an inevitable implication of the transition from the centralized power structures of the industrial age to the dispersed, decentralized power structures of the Third. But smaller government does not imply weak government; nor does arguing for smaller government require being against government for narrowly ideological reasons.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: Government
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:
Page 57
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne