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Jeremy Rifkin (born January 26, 1945) is an American economic and
social theorist Social theories are analytical frameworks, or paradigms, that are used to study and interpret social phenomena.Seidman, S., 2016. Contested knowledge: Social theory today. John Wiley & Sons. A tool used by social scientists, social theories relat ...
, writer, public speaker,
political advisor Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely te ...
, and activist. Rifkin is the author of 23 books about the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society, and the environment. His most recent books include ''The Age of Resilience'' (2022), ''The Green New Deal'' (2019), ''The Zero Marginal Cost Society'' (2014), '' The Third Industrial Revolution'' (2011), '' The Empathic Civilization'' (2010), and '' The European Dream'' (2004). Rifkin is the principal architect of the "Third Industrial Revolution" long-term economic sustainability plan to address the triple challenge of the global economic crisis, energy security, and climate change. The Third Industrial Revolution (TIR) was formally endorsed by the European Parliament in 2007. ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' reported from Beijing in October 2015 that "Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has not only read Jeremy Rifkin's book, ''The Third Industrial Revolution'', but taken it to heart", he and his colleagues having incorporated ideas from this book into the core of the country's thirteenth Five-Year Plan. According to EurActiv, "Jeremy Rifkin is an American economist and author whose best-selling ''Third Industrial Revolution'' arguably provided the blueprint for Germany's transition to a
low-carbon economy A low-carbon economy (LCE) or decarbonised economy is an economy based on energy sources that produce low levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. GHG emissions due to human activity are the dominant cause of observed climate change since the ...
, and China's strategic acceptance of climate policy." Rifkin has taught at the
Wharton School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...
executive education program at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
since 1995, where he instructs CEOs and senior management on making a transition of their business operations into sustainable economies. Rifkin is ranked number 123 in the ''WorldPost'' / ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' 2015 global survey of "The World's Most Influential Voices". He also is listed among the top ten most influential economic thinkers in the survey. Rifkin has lectured before many ''Fortune'' 500 companies, and hundreds of governments, civil society organizations, and universities over the past thirty five years. Rifkin is also the president of the TIR Consulting Group, LLC, in connection with a wide range of industries including
renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
, power transmission, architecture, construction, information technology (IT), electronics, transport, and logistics. TIR's global economic development team is working with cities, regions, and national governments to develop the
Internet of Things The Internet of things (IoT) describes physical objects (or groups of such objects) with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other com ...
(IoT) infrastructure for a collaborative commons and a third industrial revolution. Currently, TIR is working with the regions of
Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. The ...
in France, the Metropolitan Region of Rotterdam and The Hague, and the
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
in the conceptualization, build-out, and scale-up of a smart third industrial revolution infrastructure to transform their economies.


Biography


Youth and education

Rifkin was born in
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, to Vivette Ravel Rifkin, daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants to
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, and Milton Rifkin, a plastic-bag manufacturer. He grew up on the southwest side of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
. He was president of the graduating class of 1967 at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
, where he received a bachelor of science degree in economics at the
Wharton School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...
of Finance and Commerce. Rifkin was also the recipient of the University of Pennsylvania's General Alumni Association's Award of Merit 1967. He had an epiphany when one day in 1967 he walked past a group of students protesting the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and picketing the administration building and was amazed to see, as he recalls, that "my frat friends were beating the living daylights out of them. I got very upset." He organized a freedom-of-speech rally the next day. From then on, Rifkin quickly became an active member of the
peace movement A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world pe ...
. He attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at
Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
(MA, International Affairs, 1968) where he continued anti-war activities. Later he joined Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA).


1970s

In 1970, Rifkin founded the People's Bicentennial Commission to provide "revolutionary alternatives for the
Bicentennial __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe * French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...
years." In 1973, Rifkin organized a mass protest against oil companies at the commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of the
Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell t ...
at Boston Harbor. Thousands joined the protest, as activists dumped empty oil barrels into Boston Harbor. The protest came in the wake of the increase in gasoline prices in the fall of 1973, following the
OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headqua ...
oil embargo. Later, this was called a "Boston Oil Party" by the press. In 1977, with Ted Howard, he founded the Foundation on Economic Trends (FOET), which is active in both national and international public policy issues related to the environment, the economy, and climate change. FOET examines new trends and their effects on the environment, the economy, culture, and society, and it engages in litigation, public education, coalition building, and grassroots organizing activities to advance their goals. Rifkin became one of the first major critics of the nascent
biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...
industry with the 1977 publication of his book, ''Who Should Play God?'' In 1978, Jeremy Rifkin and Randy Barber co-authored the book ''The North Will Rise Again: Pensions, Politics, and Power in the 1980s''. The book and subsequent activist engagement by the authors with the American Labor Union movement, the financial community, and civil society organizations helped spawn the era of socially responsible investment of public and union pension funds in America. An article on socially responsible investment in the New York University Review of Law and Social Change noted that "the idea of socially responsible investing, long a concern of only special interest groups, achieved widespread attention in 1978 with the publication of Jeremy Rifkin and Randy Barber's ''The North Will Rise Again''." The book helped lay the early groundwork for what later would evolve into the principles of environment, society, and governance (ESG) standards in investments.


1980s

Rifkin's 1980 book, '' Entropy: A New World View'', discusses how the physical concept of
entropy Entropy is a scientific concept, as well as a measurable physical property, that is most commonly associated with a state of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. The term and the concept are used in diverse fields, from classical thermodyna ...
applies to nuclear and solar energy, urban decay, military activity, education, agriculture, health, economics, and politics. It was called "A comprehensive worldview" and "an appropriate successor to... '' Silent Spring'', '' The Closing Circle'', '' The Limits to Growth'', and ''
Small Is Beautiful ''Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered'' is a collection of essays published in 1973 by German-born British economist E. F. Schumacher. The title "Small Is Beautiful" came from a principle espoused by Schumach ...
''" by the ''Minneapolis Tribune''. Rifkin's work was heavily influenced by the ideas expressed by Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen in his 1971 book ''The Entropy Law and the Economic Process''. In Rifkin's 1989 revised edition of ''Entropy:...'', entitled ''Entropy: Into the Greenhouse World'', its "afterword" was written by Georgescu-Roegen. In 1980, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of granting a patent on the first genetically engineered life form with 5 justices favoring the patent and 4 justices opposed. Jeremy Rifkin's office - The People's Business Commission - provided an amicus curiae brief in support of the US Patent and Trademark Office, arguing that extending patents to genetically-engineered organisms was not covered by US patent law. Speaking on behalf of the majority opinion, Chief Justice
Warren Burger Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was an American attorney and jurist who served as the 15th chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Burger graduated from the St. Paul Colleg ...
referred to the petitioners' briefs as "the gruesome parade of horribles" and argued that "the relevant distinction was not between living and inanimate things, but between products of nature, whether living or not, and human-made inventions". Speaking for the minority opinion,
Justice William Brennan William Joseph "Bill" Brennan Jr. (April 25, 1906 – July 24, 1997) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1956 to 1990. He was the seventh-longest serving justice ...
argued that "it is the role of Congress, not this court, to broaden or narrow the reach of patent laws" and further suggested that "the composition he genetically engineered micro-organismsought to be patented uniquely implicates matters of public concern".  On May 16, 1984, Federal District Judge
John J. Sirica John Joseph Sirica (March 19, 1904 – August 14, 1992) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, where he became famous for his role in the trials stemming from the Watergate scandal. ...
issued a ruling halting an experiment that would have involved the "first deliberate release into the environment of organisms altered by gene splicing". The court suit was brought by Jeremy Rifkin, the President of the Washington DC-based Foundation on Economic Trends. The plaintiff argued that the
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the lat ...
(NIH) had violated the
National Environmental Policy Act The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a United States environmental law that promotes the enhancement of the environment and established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The law was enacted on January 1, 1970.Un ...
(NEPA) by failing to undergo an assessment of the potential risks and impacts of releasing the genetically engineered organism into the environment before "giving the testing a green light". The journal ''
Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...
'' recorded that the ruling "stunned most observers". In his ruling, Judge Sirica said that Rifkin and his legal counsel "had made a satisfactory showing that they are likely to succeed" in their lawsuit. In the meantime, ''Science'' reported that Judge Sirica told NIH "not to approve any more experiments by academic researchers involving release of modified organisms". The court ruling was credited with beginning the process of regulating the release of genetically engineered organisms into the environment in the United States and around the world. In 1989, Rifkin brought together climate scientists and environmental activists from 35 nations in Washington, D.C. for the first meeting of the Global Greenhouse Network. In the same year, Rifkin did a series of Hollywood lectures on
global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
and related environmental issues for a diverse assortment of film, television, and music industry leaders, with the goal of organizing the Hollywood community for a campaign. Shortly thereafter, two Hollywood environmental organizations, Earth Communications Office (ECO) and the Environmental Media Association, were formed. In a profile article in 1989, TIME Magazine called Jeremy Rifkin "the nation's foremost opponent of environmental neglect...In the field of public policy, no one is better than Rifkin in the martial arts of social activism: lawsuits, petitions, debates, lectures..." Also in 1989 Rifkin, with a group of environmentalists, attempted to prevent the launch of a NASA rocket that was expected to lift the
Galileo space probe ''Galileo'' was an American robotic space probe that studied the planet Jupiter and its moons, as well as the asteroids Gaspra and Ida. Named after the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, it consisted of an orbiter and an entry probe. It was ...
, claiming it carried a "very high risk" of explosion and "spraying deadly
plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exh ...
" over the territory of the USA. The lawsuit was eventually rejected, and the Galileo mission succeeded.


1990s

In 1992, Rifkin published the book ''Beyond Beef''. In its review, the Washington Post praised the book for its "fresh thinking and well-reasoned arguments... nd forcombining reliable research with logical conclusions", noting that " ifkinoffers enough economic, medical, environmental, and ethical arguments to persuade any open minded person to pass by the meat (en)counter.” That same year, Rifkin and the Foundation on Economic Trends launched the Pure Food Campaign to demand government labeling of all genetically engineered foods. The campaign was spearheaded by more than 1,500 of the nation’s leading chefs. In 1993, Rifkin launched the Beyond Beef Campaign, a coalition of six environmental groups including
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
,
Rainforest Action Network Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is an environmental organization based in San Francisco, California, United States. The organization was founded by Randy "Hurricane" Hayes and Mike Roselle in 1985, and first gained national prominence with a gr ...
, and
Public Citizen Public Citizen is a non-profit, progressive consumer rights advocacy group and think tank based in Washington, D.C., United States, with a branch in Austin, Texas. Lobbying efforts Public Citizen advocates before all three branches of the Unit ...
, with the goal of encouraging a 50% reduction in the consumption of beef, arguing that
methane emissions Increasing methane emissions are a major contributor to the rising concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere, and are responsible for up to one-third of near-term global heating. During 2019, about 60% (360 million tons) of methane r ...
from cattle has a warming effect 23 times greater than carbon dioxide. His 1995 book, '' The End of Work'', is credited by some with helping shape the current global debate on
automation Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...
, technology displacement, corporate downsizing, and the future of jobs. Reporting on the growing controversy over automation and technology displacement in 2011, ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
'' pointed out that Rifkin drew attention to the trend back in 1996 with the publication of his book, ''The End of Work''. Then ''The Economist'' asked "what happens... when machines are smart enough to become workers? In other words, when capital becomes labor." ''The Economist'' noted that "this is what Jeremy Rifkin, a social critic, was driving at in his book, "The End of Work," published in 1996... Mr. Rifkin argued prophetically that society was entering a new phase, one in which fewer and fewer workers would be needed to produce all the goods and services consumed. 'In the years ahead,' he wrote, 'more sophisticated software technologies are going to bring civilization ever closer to a near-workerless world. The process has already begun." His 1998 book, ''The Biotech Century'', addresses issues accompanying the new era of genetic commerce. In its review of the book, the journal ''
Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
'' observed that "Rifkin does his best work in drawing attention to the growing inventory of real and potential dangers and the ethical conundrums raised by genetic technologies... At a time when scientific institutions are struggling with the public understanding of science, there is much they can learn from Rifkin's success as a public communicator of scientific and technological trends." In ''The Biotech Century'', Rifkin argues that 'Genetic engineering represents the ultimate tool.' 'With genetic technology we assume control over the hereditary blueprints of life itself. Can any reasonable person believe for a moment that such unprecedented power is without substantial risk?' Some of the changes he highlights are: replication partially replacing reproduction; and 'Genetically customized and mass-produced animal clones could be used as chemical factories to secrete—in their blood and milk—large volumes of inexpensive chemicals and drugs for human use.' Rifkin's work in the biological sciences includes advocacy of
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...
and animal protection around the world.


2000s

Rifkin's book, '' The Age of Access'', published in 2000, was the first to introduce the concept that society is beginning to move from ownership of property in markets, to access to services in networks, giving rise to the
sharing economy In capitalism, the sharing economy is a socio-economic system built around the sharing of resources. It often involves a way of purchasing goods and services that differs from the traditional business model of companies hiring employees to produce ...
. According to the Journal of Consumer Research, "the phenomenon of access was first documented in the popular business press by Rifkin (2000), who primarily examines the business-to-business sector and argues that we are living in an age of access in which property regimes have changed to access regimes characterized by short-term limited use of assets controlled by networks of suppliers." Rifkin published the book ''The Hydrogen Economy: The Creation of the Worldwide Energy Web and the Redistribution of Power on Earth'' in 2002. That same year, Mr. Rifkin, who at the time served as an advisor to
Romano Prodi Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Pr ...
, then
President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...
, developed a strategic
white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...
committing the European Union to a multi-billion Euro research and development plan that would transform the EU into a green hydrogen economic paradigm. Mr. Rifkin joined Prodi at a
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
conference in October 2002 to announce "a coordinated long-term plan for Europe to make the transition from
fossil-fuel A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ma ...
dependency to become the first " hydrogen economy" superpower of the 21st century". President Prodi remarked that the EU hydrogen R&D initiative would be as significant for the future of Europe as the space program was for the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s. After the publication of ''The Hydrogen Economy'' (2002), Rifkin worked both in the U.S. and Europe to advance the political cause of renewably generated hydrogen. In the U.S., Rifkin was instrumental in founding the Green Hydrogen Coalition, consisting of 13 environmental and political organizations (including
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
and MoveOn.org) committed to building a renewable hydrogen-based economy. His 2004 book, '' The European Dream'', was an international bestseller and winner of the 2005 Corine International Book Prize in Germany for the best economics book of the year. In its review of the book, ''
BusinessWeek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
'' noted that "Rifkin makes a compelling case for he Europeanvision, which he says is usurping the American Dream as a global ideal … a fascinating study of the differences between the American and European psyches." In 2009 Rifkin published The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis.


2011–2012

In 2011, Rifkin published '' The Third Industrial Revolution; How Lateral Power is Transforming Energy, the Economy, and the World''. The book was a ''New York Times'' best-seller, and has been translated into 19 languages. By 2014, approximately 500,000 copies were in print in China alone. Rifkin delivered a keynote address at the Global Green Summit 2012 on May 10, 2012. The conference was hosted by the
Government of the Republic of Korea The Government of South Korea is the union government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and is the ...
and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), in association with the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate ...
(OECD) and
United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on ...
(UNEP). President
Lee Myung-bak Lee Myung-bak (; ; ; born 19 December 1941) is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the 10th president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction, and the m ...
of South Korea also gave a speech at the conference and embraced the Third Industrial Revolution to advance a green economy. In December 2012, ''
Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
'' reported that the newly-elected premier of China,
Li Keqiang Li Keqiang (born 1 July 1955) is a Chinese politician who is the outgoing premier of China. An economist by profession, Li is head of China's executive branch as well as one of the leading figures behind China's Financial and Economic Affa ...
is a fan of Rifkin and had "told his state scholars to pay close attention" to Rifkin's book, ''The Third Industrial Revolution: How Lateral Power is Transforming Energy, the Economy, and the World''. Rifkin received the ''America Award'' of the Italy-USA Foundation in 2012. He currently works out of an office in
Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which ...
, a suburb of Washington, D.C.


2013–2014

In April 2014, Rifkin published ''The Zero Marginal Cost Society: The Internet of Things, the Collaborative Commons, and the Eclipse of Capitalism''. Fortune called the book, "admirable in its scope... a heartening narrative of what our economic future may hold for the generations to come." The book was translated into fifteen languages.


2015

Rifkin was awarded an honorary doctorate from
Hasselt University Hasselt University (Dutch: ''Universiteit Hasselt or UHasselt'') is a public research university with campuses in Hasselt and Diepenbeek, Belgium. It has more than 6,700 students and 1,660 academic, administrative and technical staff (2022). The ...
in Belgium in the spring of 2015. Rifkin also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Liege in Belgium in the Fall of 2015. In November 2015, the Huffington Post reported from Beijing that "Chinese Premier
Li Keqiang Li Keqiang (born 1 July 1955) is a Chinese politician who is the outgoing premier of China. An economist by profession, Li is head of China's executive branch as well as one of the leading figures behind China's Financial and Economic Affa ...
has not only read Jeremy Rifkin's book, The Third Industrial Revolution, and taken it to heart. He and his colleagues have also made it the core of the country's thirteenth Five-Year Plan announced in Beijing on October 29th." The Huffington Post went on to say that "this blueprint for China's future signals the most momentous shift in direction since the death of Mao and the advent of Deng Xiaoping's reform and opening up in 1978."


2016

In 2016, TIR Consulting Group, LLC and Rifkin, its president, were commissioned by both the Metropolitan Region of Rotterdam - The Hague (MRDH) and the
grand Duchy of Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
to oversee the development of regional master plans to transform each governing jurisdiction into a zero emission Third Industrial Revolution infrastructure and economy. Citizens assemblies were established in each region to work alongside TIR Consulting Group's team to conceptualize and enact far-reaching initiatives to address climate change and "green" their respective economies and societies.


2017

On January 31, 2017, the
European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the prime component of the monetary Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's most important centra ...
hosted a conference on the theme “Into the Future: Europe’s Digital Integrated Market”. Rifkin delivered a keynote address on transforming the European Union into a smart third industrial revolution paradigm. On February 7, 2017, the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
and the European Committee of the Regions hosted a conference in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
on the theme “Investing in Europe: building a coalition of smart cities and regions toward a Third Industrial Revolution”. Jeremy Rifkin joined Maros Sefcovic, vice president of the European Commission, and Markku Markkula, president of the European Committee of the Regions, in a presentation of the smart city and smart region agenda across the European Union. Jeremy Rifkin is the executive co-producer and star of a feature-length documentary film produced by
VICE Media Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); ...
entitled ''The Third Industrial Revolution: A Radical New Sharing Economy''. The film, subtitled in nineteen languages, premiered at the
Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...
in 2017, and has been live on YouTube since 2018. As of July 2021, the film had been viewed by 5.6 million people.


2019

In September 2019, Rifkin published ''The Green New Deal: Why the Fossil Fuel Civilization will Collapse by 2028, and the Bold Economic Plan to Save Life on Earth''. In its review of the book, ''Forbes'' noted that " eremy Rifkinis a principal architect of the European Union’s long-term economic vision, Smart Europe, and a key advisor to China's Third Industrial Revolution vision... His new book, The Green New Deal, is essentially an attempt to rouse the United States from its slumber within a collapsing 20th century fossil fuel era." That same year, the European Commission and its president,
Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; Albrecht, born 8 October 1958) is a German politician who has been serving as the president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding suc ...
, announced the
European Green Deal The European Green Deal, approved 2020, is a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making the European Union (EU) climate neutral in 2050. An impact assessed plan will also be presented to increase the ...
, a plan to make Europe "the first climate neutral continent in the world" by 2050. The European Commission presented a spectrum of proposals, projects, and initiatives under the rubric of "Leading The Third Industrial Revolution", signaling a fundamental transformation of the European economy and society.


2020

Jeremy Rifkin was a recipient of the 13th annual German Sustainability Award in December 2020 for his work on addressing climate change. The award was presented to Mr. Rifkin in a laudatory address by Sigmar Gabriel, the former Foreign Minister of Germany, Foreign Minister, Vice-Chancellor, Economic Minister, and Environmental Minister of Germany.


2021

Jeremy Rifkin and TIR Consulting Group, LLC and partners published a $16 trillion, twenty-year America 3.0 Resilient Infrastructure plan, prepared for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Charles Schumer and first released by Bloomberg on July 29 in an article entitled "Energy Guru is Beyond Disappointed with Dwindling US Infrastructure Plan". The America 3.0 infrastructure transformation 2022-2042 details a massive investment to scale, deploy, and manage a smart digital zero-emission Third Industrial Revolution infrastructure for a 21st century economy. The plan will create an average of 15 to 22 million net new jobs over the period 2022 to 2042. For every dollar invested, it is projected to return $2.9 dollars in GDP between 2022 and 2042. The Bloomberg article noted that "For almost two decades the U.S. author and climate activist Jeremy Rifkin has advised governments in Europe and China on how to retool their economies for what he calls a third industrial revolution." Rifkin also provided the economic and environmental commentary in the fifth and final episode of the BBC documentary series A Perfect Planet, starring Sir David Attenborough.


2022

In November 2022, Rifkin published ''The Age of Resilience: Reimagining Existence on a Rewilding Earth''. In its review of the book, the ''Financial Times'' noted that "...The influential US thinker...[argues that] humanity is shifting to an age of resilience that could transform our relationship with the natural world and each other...Rifkin sees a future of sweeping economic and social shifts where productivity gives way to regenerativity and gross domestic product to quality of life indicators. Consumerism, corporate conglomerates and globalisation all wither while “eco-stewardship”, high-tech co-operatives and “glocalisation” flourish. The book will undoubtedly prove beguiling for many readers, even as it infuriates others. It is rarely different for a writer who has spent decades warning of the need to address environmental problems that the human species caused and is still struggling to fix.”


Reception

According to The ''European Energy Review'', "Perhaps no other author or thinker has had more influence on the EU's ambitious climate and energy policy than the famous American 'visionary' Jeremy Rifkin. In the United States, he has testified before numerous congressional committees and has had success in litigation to ensure responsible government policies on a variety of environmental, scientific and technology related issues. The Union of Concerned Scientists has cited some of Rifkin's publications as useful references for consumers and ''The New York Times'' once stated that "others 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"


Criticism

Rifkin's work is controversial due to a purported lack of scientific rigor in his claims as well as some of the tactics he has used to promote his views. These include claims that the theory of evolution is a product of "19th century industrial capitalism" and frequent use of the Straw man, strawman fallacy. Referring to Rifkin's 1984 book, ''Algeny: A New Word--A New World'', Stephen Jay Gould stated: A 1989 ''Time (magazine), Time'' article about Rifkin's activist methods (entitled "The Most Hated Man in Science") details reactions by scientists, especially geneticists, of that decade.


Books

*1973, ''How to Commit Revolution American Style: Bicentennial Declaration'', with John Rossen, Lyle Stuart Inc., *1975, ''Common Sense II: The Case Against Corporate Tyranny'', Bantam Books, OCLC 123151709 *1977, ''Own Your Own Job: Economic Democracy for Working Americans'', *1977, ''Who Should Play God? The Artificial Creation of Life and What it Means for the Future of the Human Race'', with Ted Howard, Dell Publishing Co., *1978, ''The North Will Rise Again: Pensions, Politics and Power in the 1980s'', with Randy Barber, Beacon Press, *1979, ''The Emerging Order: God in the Age of Scarcity'', with Ted Howard, Putnam, *1980, '' Entropy: A New World View'', with Ted Howard (afterword by Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen), Viking Press, *1983, ''Algeny: A New Word—A New World'', in collaboration with Nicanor Perlas, Viking Press, *1985, ''Declaration of a Heretic'', Routledge and Kegan Paul, *1987, ''Time Wars: The Primary Conflict In Human History'', Henry Holt & Co, *1990, ''The Green Lifestyle Handbook: 1001 Ways to Heal the Earth'' (edited by Rifkin), Henry Holt & Co, *1991, ''Biosphere Politics: A New Consciousness for a New Century'', Crown, *1992, ''Beyond Beef: The Rise and Fall of the Cattle Culture'', E. P. Dutton, *1992, ''Voting Green: Your Complete Environmental Guide to Making Political Choices In The 90s'', with Carol Grunewald Rifkin, Main Street Books, *1995, ''The End of Work, The End of Work: The Decline of the Global Labor Force and the Dawn of the Post-Market Era'', Putnam Publishing Group, *1998, ''The Biotech Century: Harnessing the Gene and Remaking the World'', J P Tarcher, *2000, ''The Age Of Access: The New Culture of Hypercapitalism, Where All of Life is a Paid-For Experience'', Putnam Publishing Group, *2002, ''The Hydrogen Economy: The Creation of the Worldwide Energy Web and the Redistribution of Power on Earth'', Jeremy P. Tarcher, *2004, ''The European Dream, The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream'', Jeremy P. Tarcher, *2010, ''The Empathic Civilization, The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness In a World In Crisis'', Jeremy P. Tarcher, *2011, ''The Third Industrial Revolution (book), The Third Industrial Revolution: How Lateral Power is Transforming Energy, the Economy, and the World'', Palgrave Macmillan, *2014, ''The Zero Marginal Cost Society: The internet of things, the collaborative commons, and the eclipse of capitalism'', Palgrave Macmillan, *2019, ''The Green New Deal: Why the Fossil Fuel Civilization Will Collapse by 2028, and the Bold Economic Plan to Save Life on Earth'', St. Martin's Press, *2022, ''The Age of Resilience: Reimagining Existence on a Rewilding Earth'', St. Martin's Press, ISBN 9781250093547


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rifkin, Jeremy 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American business writers American economics writers American political writers American technology writers American non-fiction environmental writers Writers about activism and social change Opponents of genetic engineering American climate activists Sustainability advocates People associated with criticism of economic growth Anti-consumerists Critics of work and the work ethic American business theorists Ecological economists Energy economists Jewish American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers American anti–Vietnam War activists Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania faculty Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Nautilus Book Award winners Writers from Denver American people of Russian-Jewish descent 1945 births Living people