Rifkin will address the conference on Thursday, March 2, at 7:30 p.m. in the Illinois Room of the Chicago Circle Center, 750 South Halsted, Chicago. His talk is free and open to the public.
Rifkin is the author of more than a dozen books on economic trends and issues relating to science, technology, and culture. His most recent book is The End of Work, published this year by G.P. Putnam's Sons, is a widely acclaimed look at the recent trends in employment, and their implications for the future.
Many of the jobs being replace by new technology are gone forever, Rifkin argues, and he argues that we must move beyond the notion of retraining workers for nonexistent jobs. In his book, he urges readers to ponder the unthinkable -- to prepare ourselves for a world that is phasing out mass employment. The "end of work," according to Rifkin, could mean the demise of civilization as we know it, or signal the beginning of a great social transformation and a rebirth of the human spirit.
His talk will set the stage for the discussions that will continue at the conference on Friday and Saturday.
For more information on the talk, contact the conference planners at the Center for Urban Economic Development, at 312-996- 5463 or through email, jdav@mcs.com.