Revolutionary Wealth

You may find my review biased as I have been a BIG fan of Alvin Toffler since his first book. As with all of his/their books before, Alvin and Heidi Toffler have surpassed themselves again with the new concept of revolutionary wealth. The book has been written over a period of time, which is evident once you read through the book. Many events described as 'recent' have occured at least 2-3 years ago. But this is no way reduces the importance of the book. Tofflers talk about knowledge as a form of wealth and how this new economy wealth defies all the established economic thoughts and how the society - nay world - is trying to grapple with the new concept. A MUST READ for anyone who wants to understand the changes happing around them. Extremely thought provoking and immensly un-put-able book.

Eye opener on where the world economy is today. It touches on "why the educational system is failing in the US", "the role of China in the very near future", "why the US is failing the smaller countries of the world" and "just how dumb every economist really is" this is just a few points made. Not an easy read, it is the equivalent of taking 3 economics classes in one book, but the info is unparalleled. If you want to know what the world has in store this is a must read.

In Revolutionary Wealth the authors see the next great revolution of all times taking root right now. They compare our time to the time of the industrial revolution where life concepts have changed and a new society was born. They show us the changes in etiquette & behaviour this new Hi-tech revolution is producing and are carrying it into the future. The Toffers thoroughness and their easily understood language, bring us the deeper fundamentals underlining the changes which we are experiencing. They acknowledge the lack of cohesion in the developments taking place in the various part of society, which thus contribute to today's restlessness. The Toffers point out all the difficulties our world has, and the prevailing pessimistic outlook. They once again compare our times to that of the industrial revolution and see the positive outcome, which they reckon, will "explode with surprises of all kinds" that will bring untold benefits to all mankind. All in all, the book is full of information and food for thoughts and it is highly recommended. Renate Artist, poet & the author of From the Promised Land to the Lucky Country

The best things about this book are what he "almost" says, but doesn't. I mean, I respect Toffler and the fact that he, too, has to make a buck selling to his corporate audience...in the way that Rennaisance thinkers could create wildly, but ultimately had to satisfy a patron. Therefore, unlike Galileo, one typically couldn't rebuke the current system that much. However, Toffler almost goes there. He almost says that "money" is no longer relevant and that a person with knowledge is truly rich. We see this now, where billions of dollars in venture capital goes unclaimed...yet people with popular MySpace places are generating activity in the prime markets that Coke and Pepsi could only hope to reach. My friend can go into a supermarket, with coupons, and spend 5 dollars for $32 worth of food. There are all kinds of ways, right now, to live in a cyberized life to make and acquire "money" -- but knowledge to do so is the real value.

Their first key focus is on TIME and its relation to space, knowledge, and effectiveness as translated into wealth. Innovative businesses are going 100 mph; civil collective groups at 90 mph; the US family at 60 mph, labor unions at 30 mph, government bureaucracies at 25 mph, education at 10 mph, non-governmental organizations including the United Nations at 5 mph, US politics and the participation process at 3 mph, and law enforcement and the law it enforces at 1 mph. This is really quite a helpful informed judgment as to the relative unfitness of all but two of the groups. The TIME section of the book has some very interesting insights including the fact that anything that requires time, like filling in a form, or that adds time to a process through regulation, is in fact a TIME TAX that is more costly than an old money tax. The Tofflers note that vice is globalizing faster than virtue. This is very important from a taxation and social goods perspective. They spend a great deal of time discussing the intangible economy that consists of non-rival knowledge that can be shared and bartered; volunteer time that produces economy value (notably parents who teach their children sanitary habits, how to speak, and discipline or social IQ); and alternative forms of capital--social, moral, whatever. They point out that 60% of the value of the industrial era companies is intangible knowledge, while almost 100% of the new economy is intangible. This entire book is an Information Operations reference. They discuss global battles to manage our minds in multiple domains--religious, cultural, economic, moral. We need to pay more attention to what filters the target audience uses to determine the truth, and what filters the hostile groups are using to try to shape the local perception of truth to fit their wishes. The book moves on to discuss what the Tofflers call the "outside brain" or the sum aggregate of knowledge that is available for individual exploitation. By one account, this consists of 12,000 petabytes. They then begin the heart of the book on "prosumption" and the economic and social value of what they believe can no longer be called capitalism in the traditional sense. The authors spend a sufficient amount of time exploring the implications of information technology on knowledge creation and capitalization, to include cell phones or other microchip devices that serve simultaneously as identity devices, bank accounts, and knowledge devices (as WIRED said in one issue, point the phone and read the bar code, and see if this product will kill you or if someone else was killed or abused as part of the product's development) Having explored the emergence of the new economy, they then return to their opening discussion of time, and point out that America's infrastructure and institutions are imploding. Our energy, transportation, health, and educational infrastructures are 50 years out of date and cannot be converted or upgraded fast