19世紀，第一次工業革命造就了密集的城市核心區、拔地而起的工廠。　　20世紀，第二次工業革命催生了市郊的大批房地產業以及工業區的繁榮。　　21世紀，第三次工業革命將把每一棟建築物變成微型發電站，可以生產出自有能源。
　　我們即將步入一個「後碳」時代。人類能否永續發展，能否避免災難性的氣候變遷，第三次工業革命將是未來的希望。
　　曾經支撐工業化生活方式的化石能源（石油、煤、天然氣）正日漸枯竭；採用再生能源（renewable energy, 太陽能、風力、水力、地熱能、生質能源等），才能確保一個可永續發展的未來。
　　網路技術和再生能源結合起來，將為第三次工業革命奠定強大的基礎，第三次工業革命將會改變世界。
　　傳統的集中式的生產活動，將轉型為第三次工業革命的分散式經營方式，傳統的階層式經濟和政治權力，將轉變為節點組織式的扁平化權力（lateral power）。
　　本書作者傑瑞米．里夫金（Jeremy Rifkin）是享譽全球的未來學大師、「第三次工業革命」概念的創立者、知名的經濟學家及社會評論家，目前擔任歐盟執委會與歐洲議會的顧問。他在這本重要著作《第三次工業革命》中闡述，人類已經歷經了兩次工業革命，馬上將邁向開創性的第三次工業革命。而每一次的工業革命，都是新的能源與新的資訊通訊技術結合之下而產生的。
　　第一次工業革命始於18世紀末，人類使用煤與蒸汽機，帶動紡織業的機械化，以機器代替手工。
　　第二次工業革命是以電力的廣泛應用、內燃機（石油）和新交通工具（汽車）、新通訊方式（電話、廣播和電視），開啟了20世紀的大量生產時代；第二次工業革命是以石油等化石燃料為基礎而發展起來的，但如今石油資源日漸枯竭，而天然氣和煤又會造成嚴重的地球暖化。
　　第三次工業革命將由再生能源和網路建設所構成，在21世紀，由於數位技術的演進（例如3D列印），人人都可成為製造者的自造者運動（Maker Movement）即將展開。
　　如此，再生能源和網際網路技術結合起來，一般人可以在自己的家中、辦公室裡地生產出綠色能源，並在「能源網路」上共用，就像現在在網際網路上發佈和分享訊息一樣。同時，3D列印（3D Printing）技術的發展，人們只要在電腦上設計，就可3D印製出物件；新的能源搭配上新的製造模式，分散式生產（distributed manufacturing）將盛行，大幅改變人們做生意的方式、教育的方式，社會將轉型為「分散式的資本主義」（distributed capitalism）。
　　在本書中，作者根據自己幾十年來的研究，認為我們正處於第二次工業革命和石油世紀的最後階段，而根本的原因在於以石油為代表的化石能源危機，以及它所帶來的負債。



The Industrial Revolution, powered by oil and other fossil fuels, is spiraling into a dangerous endgame. The price of gas and food are climbing, unemployment remains high, the housing market has tanked, consumer and government debt is soaring, and the recovery is slowing. Facing the prospect of a second collapse of the global economy, humanity is desperate for a sustainable economic game plan to take us into the future.

Here, Jeremy Rifkin explores how Internet technology and renewable energy are merging to create a powerful "Third Industrial Revolution." He asks us to imagine hundreds of millions of people producing their own green energy in their homes, offices, and factories, and sharing it with each other in an "energy internet," just like we now create and share information online.

Rifkin describes how the five-pillars of the Third Industrial Revolution will create thousands of businesses, millions of jobs, and usher in a fundamental reordering of human relationships, from hierarchical to lateral power, that will impact the way we conduct commerce, govern society, educate our children, and engage in civic life.
Rifkin's vision is already gaining traction in the international community. The European Union Parliament has issued a formal declaration calling for its implementation, and other nations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, are quickly preparing their own initiatives for transitioning into the new economic paradigm.
The Third Industrial Revolution is an insider's account of the next great economic era, including a look into the personalities and players -- heads of state, global CEOs, social entrepreneurs, and NGOs -- who are pioneering its implementation around the world.


作者簡介
傑瑞米．里夫金(Jeremy Rifkin)
　　是享譽全球的未來學大師、「第三次工業革命」概念的創立者、著名經濟學家、美國華府經濟趨勢基金會（Foundation on Economic Trends）總裁、賓州大學華頓商學院高階主管教育計畫（Executive Education Program）的資深講座教授。他也是具有國際聲譽的社會評論家和暢銷書作家，著有《工作的終結》(The End of Work)、《生物科技的世紀》（The Biotech Century）、《付費體驗的時代》(The Age of Access)、《氫經濟》（The Hydrogen Economy）、《歐洲夢》(The European Dream)、《同理心的文明》（The Empathic Civilization）等18本暢銷書，他的著作已被翻譯成超過35種語言。他目前為歐盟執委會與歐洲議會的顧問。

Jeremy Rifkin is president of the Foundation on Economic Trends and the author of eighteen bestselling books, including The Hydrogen Economy and The End of Work. He has been a guest on Face the Nation, The Lehrer News Hour, 20/20, Larry King Live, Today, and Good Morning America. The National Journal named Rifkin as one of 150 people in the U.S. that have the most influence in shaping federal government policy. He has also testified before numerous congressional committees, and since 1994, Mr. Rifkin has been a senior lecturer at the Wharton School’s Executive Education Program at the University of Pennsylvania.
Rifkin is chairman of the Global CEO Business Roundtable, which includes IBM, Cisco, Cushman and Wakefield, and has served as an adviser to various global leaders, including Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Angela Merkel of Germany. His monthly column on global issues appears in many of the world’s leading newspapers and magazines, including The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian in the U.K., Die Süddeutsche Zeitung in Germany, Trud in Bulgaria, Clarín in Argentina, and Al-Ittihad in the U.A.E. He lives in Bethesda, MD.