pretty much sums up my own thoughts when I read his book. I had also read his "The End of Work" and learned some things there which really aren't touched upon in common everyday discussion. If I could sum up my impression of Rifkin in one sentence, it would be that he is honest enough to look for real answers in the past (unlike libs who luv to rewrite history to suit their needs) - but still too prone to fall in line with the leftist let's-take-the-utopian-path-of-good-intentions route (at least, I judge this by the political leanings of the organizations he has associated with).
oh, and yes, I agree completely with your last sentence - this won't happen overnight (wanted to comment further along those lines in my first post, but felt I had said enough at that point). Which really heartens me... I'm very suspicious of quick-fixes that happen so fast, we scarcely have time to understand the unintended (and usually negative...) consequences of the fix until the "program" is entrenched as an entitlement.
In a way that is a blessing of technological advance, it forces you to have a "just in time" inventory mindset (or what we in the Coast Guard called "open-ended" when structuring a computer-IT overhaul about 10 years ago) vice a "just-in-case" expensive and redundant infrastructure. You don't want to get caught choosing (and spending vast $$$ upon...) a technology that is outdated by the time you've revamped across your production line.
As we transition over the next 20 years (and this is a good marker which is historically proven out by other revolutionizing technologies - think automobile and computers; both took about 20 years to become universally accepted and necessary components of daily life) we'll see this and that qualitative improvement, first implemented by those who can afford the experiment (like the hybrid cars you see sometimes)... which makes the next step in R&D more viable since more people are willing to buy into it... and so on.
We certainly do live - to paraphrase the ancient Chinese adage - in interesting times, eh?
CGVet58
Agreed...on all counts. BTW, I once designed a JIT system for the automotive manufacturing world. I know something about MRP and JIT.