Entropy: A New World View

only just begun reading this book - after reading georgescu roegen's entropy law and the economic process this comes across as a more accessible text but very interesting as a history of ideas and paradigm shifts.

good

Still the best introduction to relating economics and the progress of man in time and it relates to the real world and its physical laws. It is even more relevant than when published in 1980 and to my experience the only one written for the layman. I gave it to my son at age 18, in two weeks he observed "I don't see what is difficult to understand" I observed that his conclusion was valid, he then gave up neo-classic economics to study ecological economics.

Sorry, but this is a terrible book. Rifkin, a guy who seems to delight in writing books on subjects he evidently has no real comprehension of, identifies "hot" topics that will appeal to a certain disaffected type of person and writes for that market. It is, in my opinion, actually simple capitalism in its most cynical form - pandering.The example of the review below by 'Macgregor' is illuminating in this respect. All wishy-washy vague idealisations about 'ecological economics' (on the website of a multi-national corporation, natch). There is no rigorous and coherent thought expressed, but instead merely a generalised and harmlessly anodyne distaste for the system that he is evidently very much a part of.This is a microcosm of the problem with the book in general. It is a bland revolution, a safe revolt, a rebellion for the middle-aged hippy and for those who don't want to accept things as they are, but can't really be bothered to work towards change. Rifkin fires off volley after volley claiming that collapse is immanent and imminent, in which case, one wonders why he is bothering to write at all. As stated at the beginning of this review, the reason is simple: to satisfy the market. QED.

Reviewers of this book differ wildly. Some focus on philosophical deficits, some on Rifkin's lack of understanding of entropy/themordynamics and some are plainly mesmorised by the environmentalist and holistic argument. I mainly belong to the latter category, because it offers a comprehensive introduction and intuitive framework to understand some of the ecological challenges facing mankind. Written long time before global warming became an acknowledged issue, it has the explanative power to change peoples' perception of progress and positivism. As in all scientific and philosophical debates, one should thrive for perfection, but in that case nothing would be written at all. Rifkin might have made some research shortcuts, but it is not reason enough to dismiss the message.