Jeremy Rifkin

[Edward theurj Berge]

This dude also deserves a thread, a postmetaphysical visionary of an integral paradigm different from the trademarked variety. And quite "spiritual" to boot, if by that we mean creating a more equitable and humane lifeworld in which all can thrive and aspire to their highest potentials. From the integral capitalism thread:

Balder:

Have you discussed Jeremy Rifkin's notion of "distributed capitalism," based on emergent peer-to-peer technological models, which he discussed in his book, The Empathic Civilization?  I skimmed the thread and didn't see mention of it, so I thought I'd add it to the mix.  Here's a brief article on it.

(An interesting notion of his, which is not directly relevant to this thread but possibly relevant to this forum, is Rifkin's notion of an emergent "dramaturgical self" as a stage of self-making beyond the "existential postmodern self."  I haven't explored it in depth -- I've just been reviewing his book for a class -- but I'll look into it more and will comment further if it's relevant.)

theurj:

Thanks for these links. I've heard of Rifkin but have yet to read him. I agree with most of what he's saying but he is stretching the definition of the term capitalism beyond its intended meaning. Recall its meaning from the beginning of the thread. Private ownership of the means of production with profit flowing to the top is antithetical to shared, open and distributed ownership of resources and information and P2P relationships, much like selfish concern and cosmocentric morality are so in a moral hierarchy. Rifkin is right to make the connection between the worldview and economic-communication systems, and that the internet correlates with an empathatic, biospheric view necessary for such shared resources and environmental consciousness. But again, capitalism was all about the exploitation of natural resources as if they were infinite with little to no regard for the environmental consequences. Rifkin laments this destruction and rightly analyzes the consciousness and systems that created it, capitalism, yet by keeping that name in his new view of P2P distribution is a functional misfit.

One can also view him speak on his new book at YouTube. Just watching the first couple minutes it seems to be the same info in the text linked above.

Balder:

I also had posted this video on his work here on IPS awhile back.

theurj:

Now I understand hybrid systems during transition phases. For example we have hybrid gas-electric cars which are better than just gas-driven. But we know that it is a transition to a full electric car when we develop the technology and infrastructure to make it feasible. That is, we know we must completely leave behind using a limited resource like petrol for a more sustainable energy source. So with economic systems. There are hybrids of capitalism with open source and of course it is a step in the right direction. But like with petrol we know that at some point we will leave capitalism behind in a more equitable, humane and environmental consciousness with correlative political economy.

 

So for me it says something about our consciousness to which economic system we attach. Given the I-I agenda of a kinder, gentler capitalism it appears to be on the transition of rational-pluralistic and it calls that integral. Hence you get no language or values about open source, distributed networks or P2P. Whereas I think what Rifkin is describing, that ecologic empathy that is growing out of the informational-pluralistic into the internet P2P network, is what we might call integral. And it is open source, not private property. But again, it is currently a hybrid in transition but we know where it is going and what must be left behind.*

 

*As to worldview and moral level replacement, see the previous thread on ladder-climber-view. Like I said, I don't think it's a strict or clean dividing line between one level and the next, with transitions containing mixes and hybrids. But we see the trajectory of where it's going and what it will eventually leave behind.

You can find Rifkin's website here. Following is an excerpt from the synopsis on his lecture "The age of access":

"The new information and telecommunications technologies, e-commerce and globalization are making possible a new economic era as different from market capitalism as the latter is dissimilar from mercantilism. In the new century, markets are slowly giving way to network ways of conducting business, with far-reaching implications for the future of society....The notion of exchanging and holding on to fixed property becomes an anachronism in a society where everything is continually evolving."

[Edward theurj Berge]

3D printer can build 10 homes a day for $5,000 each.

http://theantimedia.org/this-3d-printer-can-build-10-houses-a-day-f...

[Balder]

Unfortunate news.

[Edward theurj Berge]

Rifkin was well aware of, and wrote about, the humongous battle there is and would continue to be between the fossil fuel and nuclear industries and the Commons renewable industry. Germany is not immune. I'm with the Chancellor on closing the nuke plants, even if they are 'low-carbon,' since they are 'high-death.' So yes, Germany will have to double its renewables, good. That's going to be difficult with those cuts to the subsidies, which is a significant part of the transition. And yes, they have to get tougher on the coal plants. We knew this would be a long, hard-fought war and this is a setback. But as righteous warriors we must continue the fight, willing to sacrifice what it takes. Or we all die. No metaphor, no hyperbole.

[Edward theurj Berge]

The final draft of the IPCC synthesis report is out and it's not good. Human caused climate change is already here, it's dangerous and if we keep it up it's likely severe, pervasive and irreversible. Burning fossil fuels is the main culprit. If we don't change, examples of consequences include rising sea levels, ocean acidification, and increasingly severe weather like droughts, heat waves and flooding. The resultant food and water shortages will likely cause worsening violent conflicts and fleeing refugees. The best scientific anti-climate change challenge doesn't deny these consequences but just asserts that we're an adaptive species so will figure out how to adjust to it. That's their best argument?

[DavidM58]

And here is a "reality check" in regards to how much solar electricity is being generated in Germany.

Balder said:

Unfortunate news.

[DavidM58]

Yep, it is already here, and it's probably safe to say that we're likely already locked in for it to be severe, pervasive and irreversible. Which doesn't mean we give up on our efforts to mitigate and adapt - to at least provide our best shot to reduce the severity.

Business as usual is not an option. Hasn't been for a long time now, but people seem to hold on to BAU until chaos arrives and forces different arrangements.
 
theurj said:

The final draft of the IPCC synthesis report is out and it's not good. Human caused climate change is already here, it's dangerous and if we keep it up it's likely severe, pervasive and irreversible. Burning fossil fuels is the main culprit. If we don't change, examples of consequences include rising sea levels, ocean acidification, and increasingly severe weather like droughts, heat waves and flooding. The resultant food and water shortages will likely cause worsening violent conflicts and fleeing refugees. The best scientific anti-climate change challenge doesn't deny these consequences but just asserts that we're an adaptive species so will figure out how to adjust to it. That's their best argument?

[andrew]

BP in the gulf has proved to me that the fossil fuel, petrochemical industries are pathological liars and murderers! We can no longer trust a word that these people and corporations say. Lies, lies, lies. The C.E.O.'s of B.P. should be charged criminally for what they did there. 

And what condition are the waters surrounding the arab gulf states after 100 years of oil extraction. Not too pretty, I can guarantee . And certainly a lot of that damage has been done by the western corporatocracy; and the internet has allowed the muslims to know this now. 

[andrew]

The point being is that the only way to stop these corporations from polluting pretty well everything  is to make the act of pollution a criminal offence. I think that was said in the spirit of authentic conservatism!

Google Mount Polley trailing pond disaster in B.C. 

Now the corporations have bought most of the politicians, so getting laws past to stop their criminal behaviour will not be easy. 

As a side note: if the earth does get destroyed by the corporations they will see it as a victory. That is the corporate mindset: winning! To drill in the deepest parts of the ocean; to frack every fucking inch of this earth is winning to these people. Houston, we have one hell of a big fucking problem there!

[Edward theurj Berge]

This is a Rifkin interview with an interesting twist; the interviewer interrupts and challenges him frequently. And they get in heated exchanges. The interviewer even called Rifkin a dreamer divorced from reality. And Rifkin handles it well. Very entertaining as well as informative.

[Edward theurj Berge]

China just got serious about climate change.

[Balder]

Andrew Venezia (a JFKU Integral Theory program graduate) has a response to Rifkin's Third Industrial Revolution up on his new Good Good website.

[Edward theurj Berge]

See this article for the top 9 P2P trends of 2014.

8. Cultural markers of the shift to a collaborative economy: Piketty, Rifkin and the Pope

Piketty's book showing how the current format of capitalism is structurally leading to more and more inequality, but especially its success, shows a cultural shift, despite the domination of hyperliberal forces in financial and regulatory institutions; that a mainstream author like Jeremy Rifkin can be invited in prime time to talk about the end of capitalism on a business channel is another, and so is the election of a pope which takes a clear stance against the inequality produced by the current political economy. They show an underlying cultural change that is reaching the mainstream, and will in time be shown by the regeneration of emancipatory social forces.