In this sweeping new interpretation of the history of civilization, bestselling author Jeremy Rifkin looks at the evolution of empathy and the profound ways that it has shaped our development-and is likely to determine our fate as a species. Today we face unparalleled challenges in an energy-intensive and interconnected world that will demand an unprecedented level of mutual understanding among diverse peoples and nations. Do we have the capacity and collective will to come together in a way that will enable us to cope with the great challenges of our time? In this remarkable book Jeremy Rifkin tells the dramatic story of the extension of human empathy from the rise of the first great theological civilizations, to the ideological age that dominated the 18th and 19th centuries, the psychological era that characterized much of the 20th century and the emerging dramaturgical period of the 21st century. The result is a new social tapestry-The Empathic Civilization-woven from a wide range of fields. Rifkin argues that at the very core of the human story is the paradoxical relationship between empathy and entropy. At various times in history new energy regimes have converged with new communication revolutions, creating ever more complex societies that heightened empathic sensitivity and expanded human consciousness. But these increasingly complicated milieus require extensive energy use and speed us toward resource depletion. The irony is that our growing empathic awareness has been made possible by an ever-greater consumption of the Earth's resources, resulting in a dramatic deterioration of the health of the planet. If we are to avert a catastrophic destruction of the Earth's ecosystems, the collapse of the global economy and the possible extinction of the human race, we will need to change human consciousness itself-and in less than a generation. Rifkin challenges us to address what may be the most important question facing humanity today: Can we achieve global empathy in time to avoid the collapse of civilization and save the planet? One of the most popular social thinkers of our time, Jeremy Rifkin is the bestselling author of The European Dream, The Hydrogen Economy¸ The End of Work, The Biotech Century, and The Age of Access. He is the president of the Foundation on Economic Trends in Washington, D.C.

A Green New Deal is the transit from a mineral architecture to vegetal architecture.
The number one cause of Global warming is Architecture - the buildings. Buildings are responsible for 40% of the Co2 that is emitted into the atmosphere. The architects must take this responsibility and move from geopolitics towards biosphere politics. A Green New Deal is a real test of how this can be achieved. The context for the intervention is an existing historic building in Barcelona, the Centre of Arts Santa Monica; a building to explore the Third Industrial Revolution as the potential of a transformation towards an empathic architecture. Nature should let us show the path. Cloud 9 equipped the trees in front of Arts Santa Monica with sensors that capture data on temperature, humidity and light energy to inform the building. The intervention is an installation on the facade that produces energy from the environment, like the sun and wind. It is an additional skin which allows control of natural light and regulates solar radiation.

The American Dream is in decline. Americans are increasingly overworked, underpaid, and squeezed for time. But there is an alternative: the European Dream-a more leisurely, healthy, prosperous, and sustainable way of life. Europe's lifestyle is not only desirable, argues Jeremy Rifkin, but may be crucial to sustaining prosperity in the new era.
With the dawn of the European Union, Europe has become an economic superpower in its own right-its GDP now surpasses that of the United States. Europe has achieved newfound dominance not by single-mindedly driving up stock prices, expanding working hours, and pressing every household into a double- wage-earner conundrum. Instead, the New Europe relies on market networks that place cooperation above competition; promotes a new sense of citizenship that extols the well-being of the whole person and the community rather than the dominant individual; and recognizes the necessity of deep play and leisure to create a better, more productive, and healthier workforce.
From the medieval era to modernity, Rifkin delves deeply into the history of Europe, and eventually America, to show how the continent has succeeded in slowly and steadily developing a more adaptive, sensible way of working and living. In The European Dream , Rifkin posits a dawning truth that only the most jingoistic can ignore: Europe's flexible, communitarian model of society, business, and citizenship is better suited to the challenges of the twenty-first century. Indeed, the European Dream may come to define the new century as the American Dream defined the century now past.

《欧洲梦:21世纪人类发展的新梦想》杰里米·里夫金教授分析了“美国梦”在今日的表现。尽管它一度是世界所钦羡的理想，如今却因过度关注个人的物质获取而无法适应一个日益风险化、多样化和互相依靠的世界。由此，杰里米·里夫金教授提出了“欧洲梦”创造崭新历史的观点。他认为，美国梦强调经济增长、个人财富的积累和独立自主。新的欧洲梦则更加关注可持续发展、生活质量和相互依赖。美国梦效忠于工作伦理，强调“ 活着为了工作”；欧洲梦更加协调于闲适和深度游戏，主张“工作为了生活 ”。美国梦是融合性的，成功可归因于切断了同旧有文化之间的纽带，在美国大熔炉里成为自由的行动者；相反地，欧洲梦却基于保存原有文化身份、在多元文化的世界上生存。在必要情况下，美国人更乐意在世界范围内采用军事力量，来保护关键的自身利益。欧洲人却不太愿意使用武力，而更倾向于用外交、经济支持及援助来避免冲突。美国梦是深深个人化的，极少关注人类的其余。欧洲梦的本性却更加包容整体化，因此也更关心全球的福祉。