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Product Description
Review
"A brilliant read ... that boldly challenges the conventional view of human nature embedded in our educational systems, business practices, and political culture." Huffington Post "The kind of reading fans of Jared Diamond and Richard Dawkins can sink their teeth into, with a contagious sense of urgency over whether we can 'reach biosphere consciousness and global empathy in time to avert planetary collapse.'" Publishers Weekly "A thoroughly entertaining read." Socialist Unity "Many in the scholarly, religious, and political fields praise Jeremy Rifkin for a willingness to think big, raise controversial questions, and serve as a social and ethical prophet." New York Times Rifkin is "one of the leading big-picture thinkers of our day." Utne Reader "Rifkin poses real questions that we've spent too little time thinking about." Washington Post
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
"One of the leading big-picture thinkers of our day" (Utne Reader) delivers his boldest work in this erudite, tough-minded, and far-reaching manifesto.
Never has the world seemed so completely united-in the form of communication, commerce, and culture-and so savagely torn apart-in the form of war, financial meltdown, global warming, and even the migration of diseases.
No matter how much we put our minds to the task of meeting the challenges of a rapidly globalizing world, the human race seems to continually come up short, unable to muster the collective mental resources to truly "think globally and act locally." In his most ambitious book to date, bestselling social critic Jeremy Rifkin shows that this disconnect between our vision for the world and our ability to realize that vision lies in the current state of human consciousness. The very way our brains are structured disposes us to a way of feeling, thinking, and acting in the world that is no longer entirely relevant to the new environments we have created for ourselves.
The human-made environment is rapidly morphing into a global space, yet our existing modes of consciousness are structured for earlier eras of history, which are just as quickly fading away. Humanity, Rifkin argues, finds itself on the cusp of its greatest experiment to date: refashioning human consciousness so that human beings can mutually live and flourish in the new globalizing society.
In essence, this shift in consciousness is based upon reaching out to others. But to resist this change in human relations and modes of thinking, Rifkin contends, would spell ineptness and disaster in facing the new challenges around us. As the forces of globalization accelerate, deepen, and become ever more complex, the older faith-based and rational forms of consciousness are likely to become stressed, and even dangerous, as they attempt to navigate a world increasingly beyond their reach and control. Indeed, the emergence of this empathetic consciousness has implications for the future that will likely be as profound and far-reaching as when Enlightenment philosophers upended faith-based consciousness with the canon of reason.
Never has the world seemed so completely united-in the form of communication, commerce, and culture-and so savagely torn apart-in the form of war, financial meltdown, global warming, and even the migration of diseases.
No matter how much we put our minds to the task of meeting the challenges of a rapidly globalizing world, the human race seems to continually come up short, unable to muster the collective mental resources to truly "think globally and act locally." In his most ambitious book to date, bestselling social critic Jeremy Rifkin shows that this disconnect between our vision for the world and our ability to realize that vision lies in the current state of human consciousness. The very way our brains are structured disposes us to a way of feeling, thinking, and acting in the world that is no longer entirely relevant to the new environments we have created for ourselves.
The human-made environment is rapidly morphing into a global space, yet our existing modes of consciousness are structured for earlier eras of history, which are just as quickly fading away. Humanity, Rifkin argues, finds itself on the cusp of its greatest experiment to date: refashioning human consciousness so that human beings can mutually live and flourish in the new globalizing society.
In essence, this shift in consciousness is based upon reaching out to others. But to resist this change in human relations and modes of thinking, Rifkin contends, would spell ineptness and disaster in facing the new challenges around us. As the forces of globalization accelerate, deepen, and become ever more complex, the older faith-based and rational forms of consciousness are likely to become stressed, and even dangerous, as they attempt to navigate a world increasingly beyond their reach and control. Indeed, the emergence of this empathetic consciousness has implications for the future that will likely be as profound and far-reaching as when Enlightenment philosophers upended faith-based consciousness with the canon of reason.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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4.2 out of 5 stars (33 customer reviews)
115 of 123 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must Read for those worry what we're leaving for our kids, Jan 10 2010
By Byron Mccormick ""Hopeful for the future&... - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Empathic Civilization (Hardcover)
This is a serious book. It's well researched, well thought out and articulates the author's thoughts clearly in easy to read fashion. The question Jared Diamond asked, " What did the people on Easter Island think as they cut down the last tree?"resonates throughout this book, but we're not discussing an isolated island, but the future of at least the developed world and maybe mankind. Unlike many pundits and politicians, Mr Rifkin first delves deeply and broadly into underlying assumptions, historical context, and cultural issues, which while seeming maybe extraneous are the very essence from which we must fashion the future.
Businesses, organizations and civilizations fail mainly because they continue to operate on assumptions which a no longer valid...things have changed. The case is strong that we are at one of those massive inflection points in history where old assumptions are no longer holding true. With the pending sunset of the " second industrial revolution", Mr Rifkin then posits the framework for a "Third Industrial Revolution" which is as remarkably different from today's centralized carbon powered society, as is the IPhone, Amazon, internet world from the mom and pop grocery stores and wire based telephones of our parents. This is a compelling vision and is one which potentially puts mankind on a positive course for the future, taking "the world is flat" to it's logical conclusion with a highly distributed, more equitable form of capitalism, as opposed to the punitive, fine based approach we have so recently seen in evidence in Copenhagen.
One way to test proposition is to check it's sensitivity to the underlying assumptions. The vision presented still seems to remain vaild even when/if some of the assumptions presented turn out in the end to not be true. Readers may disagree with some of the wide ranging assumptions but the vision has the essence of an enduring truth/vision.
After 35 years of arguably no cohesive energy policy for the United States, this reader can only hope that politicians, educators and serious minded professionals and citizens read and consider the proposition that Mr. Rifkin has so carefully crafted.
Our kids and grandkids deserve no less. This book deserves broad readership and discussion....the clock of history is ticking.....this book is thought provoking and is worth the time, effort and serious consideration.
53 of 59 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you read only one book this year, make it this one!, Feb 26 2010
By Michael Dowd "America's evolutionary evangelist" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Empathic Civilization (Hardcover)
I find it interesting that (at least as of the time of my writing this review) all three reviewers who rated this book less than 5 stars didn't actually read it, or by their own admission, didn't read very far. This is not surprising, of course. When we bring preconceived notions and biases to a book and fail to experience the fullness of what it actually says, we will judge it according to our prejudices and find it lacking. That's why I generally ignore such reviews, and discount their ratings.I carefully read every page of this book (616 pages, not counting footnotes). I marked it up extensively. I re-read some sections. My bottom line recommendation: IF YOU ONLY READ ONE BOOK THIS YEAR, MAKE IT THIS ONE! I have read hundreds, perhaps thousands, of books in my 51 years of life on this planet. I must honestly say that I consider Jemery Rifkin's The Empathic Civilization to be one of the 5 most significant and important (and realistically hopeful) books I've ever read. I cannot recommend this book too highly. The history of cosmic, biological, and human evolution understood meaningfully is my field of expertise. This book does it all. It integrates humanity's best collective intelligence regarding human nature and human history and does so in a way that is a pure delight to read. Mid-way through the book I thought to myself, "How can one person know all this?!" That's when I went back and re-read the acknowledgements. Rifkin had a director of research working on this project for 4 years, with two dozen interns. No wonder it's so complete! I promise that if you give this book a good reading (it's worth taking the time to truly do so!), you will never see human nature, human history, or our prospects for a healthy future in the same way again.
Another wonderful book along similar (but by no means identical) lines is bestselling primatologist Frans de Waal's latest, The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society. The two complement each other fabulously.
-- Michael Dowd
Author of "Thank God for Evolution: How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World"
42 of 50 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
insightful and thought-provoking, Jan 12 2010
By Janie "Jane O'Neill" - Published on Amazon.com
A wonderful book which offers a very cogent analysis of the perilous state of the world. The root of our problems is that we have a mindset which is unsuited to the present era of instant global communication - we are still operating according to an outdated view of the world. The book is written with a great deal of passion and energy, and despite all its urgent highlighting of problems, still offers hope for the future.
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