[P2P-F] [NetworkedLabour] Fwd: Update from the Office of Jeremy Rifkin

Wed Apr 8 20:04:26 CEST 2015

Thank you Orsan for asking me. I have spoken before about my respect for Rifkin's ideas which I know is not shared on this list. People are very suspicious because he works with the rulers rather than the grass roots, and rightly so. Rifkin makes no secret of his desire to influence those with power, and his opinion that some in the big corporations and government see the end of fossil fuels and want to provide an alternative future. 

I don't think much good would be served by initiating a discussion on this list, but I would heartily recommend you to read his last two books, Third Industrial Revolution and  Zero Marginal Cost, which is on the p2p list as recommended reading. Listening to his talks is not enough. There he deals only with the economic issues. But his belief that when people own and produce their own renewable power, which they can freely exchange on a grid similar to the Internet, without going through some central monopoly, that this will fundamentally change social relationships and our relationship to the biosphere, is very convincing. However he is not optimistic that we will take this route. Too much weighed against it. But there are places where it is beginning to happen. 

Anna

On 8 Apr 2015, at 17:42, Orsan Senalp <orsan1234 at gmail.com> wrote:

Anna, what would be your comment on such cooperation or servicing of Rifkin to Chinese and German rulers, or may be more interesting question and to turn it around, of their interest in ending capitalism? I really like to hear an open discussion, here or wherever so would appreciate if you could share your opinion wheatear in the direction suggest on any other aspect of the info on the link you shared!

> On 08 Apr 2015, at 18:24, Anna Harris <anna at shsh.co.uk> wrote:
> 
> I consider both these comments unnecessarily negative. Disagreement is one thing, which I hope is welcomed as inevitable where diversity exists. But those deprecating remarks are intended to wound. They do not offer any grounds for open discussion. 
> 
> 
> 
> On 8 Apr 2015, at 16:50, Bob Haugen <bob.haugen at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Actually, I thought it was interesting where he was going with his
> schtick. I had not kept up. Rifkin and Merkel! What a couple!
> 
> On Wed, Apr 8, 2015 at 10:46 AM, peter waterman
> <peterwaterman1936 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi, Anna,
>> 
>> I would have thought he was really on top of his self-publicity operation
>> and needed little extra from you.
>> 
>> Best,
>> 
>> P
>> 
>> 2014. From Coldwar Communism to the Global Justice Movement: Itinerary of a
>> Long-Distance Internationalist.
>> http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/from_coldwar_communism
>> _to_the_global_emancipatory_movement/ (Free).
>> 2014. Interface Journal Special (Co-Editor), December 2014. 'Social Movement
>> Internationalisms'. (Free).
>> 2014. 'The Networked Internationalism of Labour's Others', in Jai Sen (ed),
>> Peter Waterman (co-ed), The Movement of Movements: Struggles for Other
>> Worlds  (Part I). (10 Euros).
>> 2012. EBook: Recovering Internationalism.  [A compilation of papers from the
>> new millenium. Now free in two download formats]
>> 2013. EBook (co-editor), February 2013: World Social Forum: Critical
>> Explorations http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/world_social_forum/
>> 2012. Interface Journal Special (co-editor), November 2012: For the Global
>> Emancipation of Labour
>> 2005-? Ongoing. Blog: http://www.unionbook.org/profile/peterwaterman.???.
>> Needed: a Global Labour Charter Movement (2005-Now!)
>> 2011. Under, Against, Beyond: Labour and Social Movements Confront a
>> Globalised, Informatised Capitalism (2011) (c. 1,000 pages of Working
>> Papers, free, from the 1980's-90's).
>> 
>> 
>>> On Wed, Apr 8, 2015 at 9:02 AM, Anna Harris <anna at shsh.co.uk> wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=588d35ee-35b3-44c4-8535-d4747f9b84f0&c=91e9ad10-aa46-11e3-9e40-d4ae52753a3b&ch=92cd7d60-aa46-11e3-9eb5-d4ae52753a3b
>>> 
>>> 
>>> From: Office of Jeremy Rifkin <ojr at foet.org>
>>> Date: 8 April 2015 06:05:23 BST
>>> To: anna at shsh.co.uk
>>> Subject: Update from the Office of Jeremy Rifkin
>>> Reply-To: ojr at foet.org
>>> 
>>> Having trouble viewing this email? Click here
>>> 
>>> 
>>> "Art and The End of Capitalism"
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> "Jeremy Rifkin has diagnosed the beginning of the end of the capitalist
>>> era, and artists are part of the prescription for a healthy, collaborative
>>> future"
>>> 
>>> Click here to see the full article from
>>> 
>>> The Financial Times
>>> 500,000
>>> Copies of
>>> The Third Industrial Revolution Have Been Printed in China
>>> Mr. Rifkin's New York Times bestselling book, The Third Industrial
>>> Revolution, was published in China in June 2012 and was the number one
>>> bestselling business book, currently with over 500,000 copies in print.
>>> The Zero Marginal Cost Society Has Now Been Published in 15 Languages!
>>> 
>>> Click Here For More Information on
>>> The Zero Marginal Cost Society
>>> See our TIR Master Plans Website for more information on the TIR
>>> Consulting Group LLC
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> SEE JEREMY RIFKIN'S BIOGRAPHY HERE
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Jeremy Rifkin Presents the Keynote Address at the European Investment
>>> Bank's "Momentum For Europe - Innovation and Competitiveness" Event
>>> On March 2nd, 2015 Jeremy Rifkin joined Angela Merkel, The Chancellor of
>>> Germany, Jean-Claude Juncker, The President of the European Commission, and
>>> Werner Hoyer, The President of the European Investment Bank, in Berlin,
>>> Germany to deliver the opening keynote address at the European Investment
>>> Bank conference on "Momentum for Europe-Innovation and Competitiveness". Mr.
>>> Rifkin presented a bold new plan for the next stage of the European journey:
>>> The build-out and scale-up of an Internet of Things infrastructure for a
>>> Digital Europe and the transition to a Third Industrial Revolution.
>>> 
>>> Mr. Rifkin argued that the Digital Europe transition will revolutionize
>>> every commercial sector, disrupt the workings of virtually every industry,
>>> bring with it unprecedented new economic opportunities, put millions of
>>> people back to work, and create a more sustainable post-carbon society to
>>> mitigate climate change.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Click Here To See Mr. Rifkin's Interview with EurActiv.com
>>> 
>>> China's New Richest Man Says His Success is Inspired by Jeremy Rifkin's
>>> Vision of a Third Industrial Revolution
>>> 
>>> In his new book, China's New Energy Revolution, Li Hejun, now China's
>>> richest man, says he was "deeply moved [by the] powerful set of coordinates"
>>> that Jeremy Rifkin lays out in his book, The Third Industrial Revolution,
>>> regarding the conceptualization and deployment of a digitalized Third
>>> Industrial Revolution infrastructure. In the preface to his book, Li Hejun
>>> writes "I was deeply moved by the author's insights. Reflecting upon my
>>> experience working in the new energy sector in the past 20 years, and
>>> especially in the PV industry in recent years, I found Rifkin's thesis very
>>> convincing." Li Hejun's company, Hanergy, is a leading thin-film solar power
>>> company in the world. Hejun envisions the installation of solar and other
>>> renewable energies in every community, allowing millions of people and
>>> thousands of businesses to produce their own energy and share surpluses with
>>> others on a digitalized Energy Internet stretching across China. Hejun's
>>> mission is to transform China into a sustainable post-carbon Third
>>> Industrial Revolution economy powered by renewable energies.
>>> 
>>> Mr. Rifkin's Third Industrial Revolution vision has also been embraced by
>>> the new Chinese leadership. In December 2011, Premier Li Keqiang announced
>>> that he had read Mr. Rifkin's Third Industrial Revolution book with great
>>> interest and had asked the appropriate government agencies to pay close
>>> attention to the central themes in preparing China's plan to usher-in an
>>> ecological civilization. Vice Premier Wang Yang has also endorsed Mr.
>>> Rifkin's Third Industrial Revolution economic development model.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Click Here to View the Press Release from Bloomberg Business
>>> 
>>> Thanks to all of you for your continued support!  If you should have any
>>> suggestions or concerns, please do not hesitate to let me know.
>>> 
>>> We look forward to hearing from you soon!
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Sincerely,
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Shawn Moorhead
>>> 
>>> Chief of Staff
>>> 
>>> Office of Jeremy Rifkin
>>> 
>>> shawn at foet.org
>>> 
>>> Forward email
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> This email was sent to anna at shsh.co.uk by ojr at foet.org |
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>>> 
>>> 
>>> Office of Jeremy Rifkin | 4520 East West Highway | Suite 600 | Bethesda |
>>> MD | 20814
>>> 
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>> 
>> 
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