Politicians and economists have steadfastly refused to entertain a discussion of how we prepare for a new economic era characterized by the diminishing need for mass human labor. Until we have that conversation, the fear, anger, and frustration of millions of Americans are going to grow in intensity and become manifest through increasingly hostile and extreme social and political venues. We are long overdue for public debate over the future of work and how to share the productivity gains of the Information Age.
Predictor: Rifkin, Jeremy
Prediction, in context:The 1997 book “Computers, Ethics, and Society,” edited by M. David Ermann, Mary B. Williams and Michele S. Shauf, carries a reprint of the 1995 Mother Jones magazine article “Will There Be a Job for Me in the New Information Age?” by Jeremy Rifkin. Rifkin suggests that the Information Age is fundamentally transforming the American economy. He writes: ”Politicians and economists have steadfastly refused to entertain a discussion of how we prepare for a new economic era characterized by the diminishing need for mass human labor. Until we have that conversation, the fear, anger, and frustration of millions of Americans are going to grow in intensity and become manifest through increasingly hostile and extreme social and political venues. We are long overdue for public debate over the future of work and how to share the productivity gains of the Information Age.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: Relationships
Name of publication: Computers, Ethics, and Society (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: Will There Be a Job for Me in the New Information Age?
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Pages 127, 128
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne