The Zero Marginal Cost Society by Jeremy Rifkin

[Edward theurj Berge]

After reading the Intro and first chapter a few comments. On p. 6 he discusses how monopolies intentionally thwart competition and innovation so as to maintain their stranglehold. But he claims entrepreneurs find a way around it and end up forcing competition with their better tech and price reductions. Yet he discusses on pp. 7-9 Larry Summers 2001 paper, wherein Summers acknowledges the emerging information economy was indeed moving to near marginal cost. Summers though didn't propose something like Rifkin but instead recommended "short-term natural monopolies" (8).

Recall Summers was Obama's pick for Director of the National Economic Council. His policy suggestions were well in line with the earlier promotion of "natural monopolies," and his resume attests. And we're seeing exactly this economic philosophy at play with the FCC Chairman Wheeler's proposed pay-to-play rules, where the ISP monopolies will destroy internet neutrality. Recall that Wheeler was another Obama pick, and was a former, and will return to being, a cable and wireless lobbyist. While Obama claims to back income equality and net neutrality he appoints the likes of Summers and Wheeler who make no bones about their support of monopolies. And without net neutrality good bye to Rifkin's entire plan, which requires it to succeed.

If you haven't yet, please take action to preserve it. Here's one place and you can find several others if you but look.

[andrew]

I take it you don't see any merit to their argument that they want open internet but want to be able to manage traffic for greater efficiency implying that the net wouldn't be neutral, but would again, remain open?

[Edward theurj Berge]

You take it correctly.

[Balder]

Another visionary of future human civilization:

[andrew]

You may remember him from Peter Joseph and Zeitgeist infamy.

[Balder]

I don't.  I'm not sure who Peter Joseph is and never watched the Zeitgeist films.

[DavidM58]

Balder,

Have you watched the full Future By Design movie, and if so, what are your thoughts?

There was a very interesting post by Trevor Malkinson a couple of years ago on Neotribal Zeitgeist at the Beams & Struts web magazine. A lot of similar thoughts shared there that resonate with the ideas expressed by Rifkin in this thread. One part of that post was about integralist Troy Wiley's series of videos, which are inspired by Peter Joseph's Zeitgeist movement, which is also related to the ideas of Jacque Fresco (The Venus Project/Resource Based Economies) - the subject of this Future By Design movie.

My concerns were expressed in the comments, and I enjoyed an interchange with Troy Wiley in the comments that follow. http://www.beamsandstruts.com/articles/item/991-neotribal-zeitgeist...

[Edward theurj Berge]

Does he talk about energy sources in the movie? If so, renewables? I imagine cities in the sea can use ocean currents to propel water turbines? And gather, store and transform heat from volcanic vents, and so on?

[Balder]

Hi, David -- I haven't seen the film yet, and also didn't know of the connection to the Zeitgeist movies.  I only saw the trailer (above), which made me think of the Arcosanti project (and other arcology projects) with which I am more familiar.  I will check out the full film when I have time, since I've seen the whole thing is available on Youtube.

[Edward theurj Berge]

Here's a new Rolling Stone piece by Al Gore, reiterating many of the issues in this thread. The following are just from p. 1. See it for 6 pages of interesting info also covered here.

"There is surprising – even shocking – good news: Our ability to convert sunshine into usable energy has become much cheaper far more rapidly than anyone had predicted. The cost of electricity from photovoltaic, or PV, solar cells is now equal to or less than the cost of electricity from other sources powering electric grids in at least 79 countries."

"Significantly, the cost of battery storage, long considered a barrier to the new electricity system, has also been declining steadily – even before the introduction of disruptive new battery technologies that are now in advanced development."

"Germany, Europe's industrial powerhouse, where renewable subsidies have been especially high, now generates 37 percent of its daily electricity from wind and solar; and analysts predict that number will rise to 50 percent by 2020. (Indeed, one day this year, renewables created 74 percent of the nation's electricity!)

"The cost of wind energy is also plummeting, having dropped 43 percent in the United States since 2009 – making it now cheaper than coal for new generating capacity."

"While the cost of carbon-­based energy continues to increase, the cost of solar electricity has dropped by an average of 20 percent per year since 2010. Some energy economists, including those who produced an authoritative report this past spring for Bernstein Research, are now predicting energy-price deflation as soon as the next decade."

"We are witnessing the beginning of a massive shift to a new energy-distribution model – from the 'central station' utility-grid model that goes back to the 1880s to a 'widely distributed' model with rooftop solar cells, on-site and grid battery storage, and microgrids."

[Edward theurj Berge]

This is nice, from p. 2, indicative of how typical enemies can unite over issues instead of divide over ideology:

"In Georgia, the Atlanta Tea Party joined forces with the Sierra Club to form a new organization called – wait for it – the Green Tea Coalition, which promptly defeated a Koch-funded scheme to tax rooftop solar panels."

[Edward theurj Berge]

From p. 4, one of my incessant themes:

"Yet the necessary renewal can only come from an awakened citizenry empowered by a sense of urgency and emboldened with the courage to reject despair and become active. Most importantly, now is the time to support candidates who accept the reality of the climate crisis and are genuinely working hard to solve it – and to bluntly tell candidates who are not on board how much this issue matters to you. If you are willing to summon the resolve to communicate that blunt message forcefully – with dignity and absolute sincerity – you will be amazed at the political power an individual can still wield in America's diminished democracy."

[Edward theurj Berge]

From Michel Bauwens' review of the book here. On the transition from capitalism to the commons:

"Political and social revolution is preceded by the emergence, within the old system, of the new productive system and its value logic. Not the other way around, as the socialist and marxist tradition has claimed. Today, in the very womb of capitalism, the new mode of production, the new way of value creation and distribution, is already emerging and growing, but under the domination of the old system still, but, as its logic is fundamentally different of the logic of capital, it cannot possibly be subsumed forever, and prepares the ground for a structural transformation. This structural transformation, or 'phase transition', will make the emergent subsystem into the new dominant logic."