Digital Age and Business Risk

Digital Age and Business Risk; Jeremy Rifkin argues in The New Zero Marginal Cost Society that the organization of capitalism around large centralized corporations enjoying significant economies of scale is soon swept away by the digital age. Indeed, the digital revolution is promoting new ways to organize the economy based on division and decentralization.

Jeremy Rifkin (born January 26, 1945) is an American economic and social theorist, author, public speaker, political adviser, and activist. Rifkin is the author of 21 books on the impact of changes in science and technology on the economy, workforce, society and the environment.

His most recent books include The Green New Deal (2019), The Zero Marginal Cost Society (2014), The Third Industrial Revolution (2011), The Empathic Civilization (2010), The European Dream (2004).

In the summary of The Zero Marginal Cost Society by Jeremy Rifkin, three questions; [a] why the more effective methods of production are not as good as you might think;[b] why capitalism is its own worst enemy; and, [c] how the internet will help transform energy markets around the world.

The Zero Marginal Cost Society

No. 1 Jeremy Rifkin's Key Idea

When new technology replaces the human workforce, companies may find themselves in trouble. Ever since the automation process began, people have been asking themselves: Will there ever come a time when machines do all our work for us? That's an interesting thought, for sure. And in our capitalist system, companies have indeed adopted technological innovations to cut costs and increase productivity. But as this trend continues, we must ask: How will workforce automation affect our society? Is there such a thing as too much automation?

The Zero Marginal Cost Society

Key Idea 2 Jeremy Rifkin

Capitalism sows the seeds of its own destruction. There's an old joke about doctors: if they're too good at their jobs, there won't be enough sick people to keep them working. The same can be said of capitalism: if it performs too well, its success may mean its demise. Capitalism creates its own doomsday scenario by making certain assumptions about the economy. The first assumption is that, in a free market, supply and demand will balance each other. In other words, if the demand for a particular good falls, the supplier will lower the price of that good.

The Zero Marginal Cost Society

Key Idea 3 Jeremy Rifkin

The universal trend toward disorder limits the capitalist concept of growth. Concentrated energy is present in all objects in the universe, from a piano to a tree to resources such as a piece of coal or a cup of water. But it does not want to stay in one place. According to the second law of thermodynamics, energy has a tendency to disappear -- that is, to become unavailable. That's why objects disintegrate over time. For example, harnessing the power of a river as it flows through turbines placed in dams. Eventually, however, the water level will be the same on both sides of the dam, and there will be no energy to harness. Economic activities utilize energy from natural resources to create goods. However, once used, this energy is not available for other uses.

The Zero Marginal Cost Society

Key Idea 4 Jeremy Rifkin

The emerging economy made possible by the internet is one of democratized access. The internet has brought us more than just Facebook and Lolcats. This is the cradle of an entirely new kind of economy. In a new technology-powered economy, control is more even, and people are no longer limited as consumers. Under capitalism, a few big players control the lion's share of society's assets. Historically, the costs of producing and distributing anything, from books or records to utilities like electricity, were too high for the average person. As a result, companies have a big say in what books and records will be published, how energy is generated, and so on.

The Zero Marginal Cost Society

Key Idea 5 Jeremy Rifkin

The green energy market, powered by the internet, will revolutionize energy conservation. When new technologies are introduced to society, economic power sometimes falls into the hands of one industry and falls into the hands of another. When the green energy sector emerges, most of the energy market will go to consumers instead of monolithic power companies.

Zero Marginal Cost Society

Key Idea 6 Jeremy Rifkin

If companies are willing to work together, the internet provides the tools to streamline logistics operations. Every day companies around the world are innovating to bring new, highly complex and revolutionary products to market. But when it comes to getting the product from point A to B, there's still huge room for improvement.

"The death of the capitalist era inspires with mixed feelings. While looking forward to the emergence of collaborative together with hope, and believing they offer the best vector for healing the planet and promoting a sustainable economy of abundance" (The New Society of Zero Marginal Cost). Jeremy Rifkin predicts collaborative collaboration will win after an intense struggle against capitalist monopoly.