Jeremy Rifkin
Jeremy Rifkin
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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Jeremy Rifkin is a renowned American economist, writer, and public speaker.
Birth and Death Dates
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Born: November 26, 1945 (Age 77)
Nationality and Profession(s)
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Nationality: American
Profession: Economist, Writer, Public Speaker
Early Life and Background
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Jeremy Rifkin was born in New York City to a family of Jewish immigrants. His father, a union organizer, instilled in him an early interest in social justice and the labor movement. Rifkin grew up in a modest household on Long Island, where he developed a strong sense of empathy for working-class people. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with honors in economics.
Major Accomplishments
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Rifkin has had a storied career marked by numerous accomplishments:
His work as an economist and writer has focused on the intersection of technology, politics, and culture.
Rifkin has written over 20 books, including _The Zero Marginal Cost Society_ , _The Empathic Civilization_, and _The Hydrogen Economy_.
He has testified before Congress on issues related to climate change, renewable energy, and economic policy.
As president of the Foundation on Economic Trends (FET), Rifkin has led numerous initiatives to promote sustainable development and reduce carbon emissions.
Notable Works or Actions
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Some of Rifkin's most notable works include:
_The Zero Marginal Cost Society_ , which explores the potential for a post-scarcity economy driven by renewable energy.
_The Empathic Civilization_, which argues that human empathy is essential for solving global challenges like climate change and poverty.
His influential 2002 book, _The Hydrogen Economy_, which proposed a shift from fossil fuels to hydrogen power.Impact and Legacy
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Rifkin's work has had a significant impact on the fields of economics, politics, and sustainability:
His ideas about the zero-marginal-cost society have influenced policymakers and business leaders worldwide.
His advocacy for renewable energy and a low-carbon economy has helped raise awareness about climate change.
As a public speaker, Rifkin has addressed audiences at major international forums, including the United Nations.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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Rifkin is widely quoted and remembered due to his:
Visionary thinking on emerging technologies and their social implications.
Commitment to promoting sustainable development and reducing carbon emissions.
* Ability to communicate complex economic ideas in accessible, engaging ways.
Jeremy Rifkin's work has inspired a new generation of thinkers, policymakers, and entrepreneurs working towards a more equitable and sustainable future.
Quotes by Jeremy Rifkin
The industry's not stupid. The industry knows that if those foods are labeled 'genetically engineered', the public will shy away and won't take them.
The extension of the empathic bond is the social glue to establishing a global network of millions of human beings. It’s probably not surprising that in the most technologically advanced countries, where self-expression is high, the older theological consciousness, with its emphasis on strict external codes, the communal bond, and a hierarchically organized command and control, is losing its hold. Religious hierarchies make less and less sense in a fl at, networked world.
It is not uncommon to suppose that the free exchange of property in markets and capitalism are one and the same. They are not. While capitalism operates through the free market, free markets don’t require capitalism.
A refuge is supposed to prevent what? The genes from flowing out of sight? This refuge idea won’t stop insects from moving across boundaries. That’s absurd.
The position I took at the time was that we hadn’t really examined any of the potential environmental consequences of introducing genetically modified organisms.
Even though the transformation of energy, in all of its various forms, is the very basis of all economic activity, only a tiny fraction of economists have even studied thermodynamics. And only a handful of individuals inside the profession have attempted to redefine economic theory and practice based on the energy laws.
We’re creating multiple personas. We’re creating a thespian sense of personality where we see ourselves as works of art, and we see everything in our environment as a prop, as a set, as a stage, as a backdrop for filling ourselves in. We don’t see ourselves as ever completed. We are in-formation.
Every religion holds forth the promise of either defeating time, escaping time, overcoming time, reissuing time, or denying time altogether. We use our religions as vehicles to enter the state of nirvana, the heavenly kingdom, or the promised land. We come to believe in reincarnation, rebirth, and resurrection as ways of avoiding the inevitability of biological death.
We now have an opportunity, though, to do something we didn’t do in the industrial age, and that is to get a leg up on this, to bring the public in quickly, to have an informed debate.