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Toffler, Alvin
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3 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Internet forums like groping around in the fog
In an interview with the news magazine Wprost, the US sociologist and futurist Alvin Toffler rejects the idea of virtual chat rooms: "We dive into a strange world in which we lose ourselves unless we are able to filter the information. ... But I really want to meet these people. I want to have the possibility of seeing them, drinking a coffee with them. I reject the illusion offered by these portals and Internet forums. Because often we don't know who's sitting on the other side. The distance between the participants prevents these internet relationships from developing into something enduring. In a virtual chat room we're like kids, and spend our whole time groping our way around in the fog. We know something, but we don't know everything."
» more information (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » Online media, » Global
Alvin Toffler on the future of the knowledge society
In an interview with Nathan Gardels, futurologist Alvin Toffler describes how ill-prepared the mega-state of Europe is for the system of wealth of the future, which he says will be based on decentralisation, niches, flexibility and the power of networks. "Firstly, nowadays it's knowledge that fuels the creation of wealth, and secondly, the radical fusion of production and consumption will lead to an explosion of the 'moneyless' economy. In traditional economies everything revolves around shortages, but knowledge is inexhaustible. If you grow rice in a field, I can't grow rice in that same field at the same time, but we can both apply the same knowledge at the same time – without exhausting that knowledge. It doesn't matter how many people apply arithmetic, it won't get used up. Knowledge is more mobile than any other product. It can be compressed into symbols and abstractions. It has bits that are not watertight and it's hard to protect. It's non-linear, so that small discoveries can bring great results. And above all, it's intangible."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Europe
Outsourcing and the demise of national armies
The new Polish daily prints an article by American author and futurologist Alvin Toffler on the end of the traditional national army. "The privatisation of war is the transfer of the economic concept of 'outsourcing' (the commissioning of services from foreign firms) to politics. As this trend can to be found everywhere in today's economy, outsourcing is also economically and militarily justified in war. And this is why private armies will grow in importance, number and specialisation."
» more information (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Global
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