????當然，這個宏偉計劃也面臨著一些障礙。里夫金自己也承認存在這樣的不利因素。比如，首先一點，在只有將近30%的美國人能用上寬帶的情況下，怎么創(chuàng)造出“物聯(lián)網(wǎng)社會”的所有這些奇跡呢？里夫金對在美國建立全國免費無線Wi-Fi網(wǎng)絡的初步努力表示贊賞，但這樣的方案才剛剛起步，而且時代華納有線（Time Warner Cable）和康卡斯特（Comcast）這樣的寬帶市場巨無霸可能會出面阻撓——如果這兩家公司的合并計劃付諸實施，它們對市場的控制力就會進一步加強。

????就算人們設法建立起了功能強大而且面積廣泛的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)，從而可以讓一個國家的能源和經(jīng)濟基礎設施進入新的近似零成本時代，還需要保護它免受各種各樣的侵害。值得贊揚的是，里夫金非常關注網(wǎng)絡恐怖主義可能帶來的后果，特別是如果美國繼續(xù)建設集中式能源網(wǎng)絡（這種能源網(wǎng)絡可能因為大規(guī)模網(wǎng)絡襲擊而癱瘓），而不是建立幾個獨立的小型網(wǎng)絡（歐盟正計劃這樣做）。

????接下來就是氣候變化的作用和影響，所有威脅今后幾乎任何經(jīng)濟舉措的因素都源于此，而且這個問題說不清道不明。無論能否利用先進技術來降低生產(chǎn)成本，無法預測的天氣以及有限的食品供應、清潔的水資源和原材料都會成為重大問題。

????里夫金最初成名于20世紀70和80年代的環(huán)保活動，對這些不利因素絕對了如指掌。他認為，目前我們需要的可能恰恰就是他所預見的這種處于成長狀態(tài)的協(xié)作和共享經(jīng)濟，而且協(xié)作的力量和非營利組織的模式就是今后發(fā)展的方向。他寫道：“我們需要摒棄以往的狹隘主義，像生活在同一個生物圈里的一個大家庭那樣思考和行動?！?/p>

????《零邊際成本社會》的眼界令人贊嘆。里夫金談到了大量的技術進步，這些技術進步將重新定義今后幾十年很多人的生活狀態(tài)（其中最非同尋常的一項是3D生物打印機，它能制造出人體組織，也許有一天還能造出完整的人體器官）。雖然他所描繪的高科技烏托邦有時候看起來似乎并不現(xiàn)實，但里夫金利用數(shù)據(jù)、記錄科技進步的文獻和相當數(shù)量的預先聲明，從而確保他的許多構(gòu)想都有據(jù)可查。

????里夫金在書中寫道的很多東西已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)在近幾年的商業(yè)和科技報道中。但《零邊際成本社會》想法大膽，而且樂于把各種各樣的科技進步組織成一種令人振奮的聲音來描述未來幾代人的經(jīng)濟前景，這一點成就了它的可讀性。大家可以認為這是天真，但這本書遠不僅限于此，它還傳遞著希望。而且，也許是因為眼里只有希望，里夫金并沒有提到我們凡人短期內(nèi)無法真正擺脫的終極成本：時間。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：Charlie

????There are, of course, hitches to this master plan. Rifkin himself admits several of them. To start, how can you deliver all the wonders of an "Internet of Things society" when, for example, a little less than 30% of the U.S. population has a fixed broadband Internet subscription? Rifkin praises incipient efforts to build a nationwide, free Wi-Fi network in the U.S., but such proposals are in their infancy and will likely face opposition from broadband behemoths like Time Warner Cable and Comcast, two companies that will gain even more control of the market if their proposed merger goes forward.

????And even if you somehow build a powerful, expansive Internet that can bring a nation's energy and economic infrastructure into a new, nearly costless era, you will need to protect it from all kinds of harm. To his credit, Rifkin devotes significant attention to the potential consequences of cyberterrorism, especially if the U.S. continues to develop a centralized energy grid (the kind that could be taken out by a massive cyberattack) rather than building several individual microgrids, which is what the European Union plans to do.

????Then there's the granddaddy of all threats to just about any future economic arrangement: the untold effects and consequences of climate change. Unpredictable weather and limited food supplies, clean water, and raw materials all pose major complications, whether or not you take advantage of technology that can reduce the cost of production.

????Rifkin, who initially made his name as an environmental activist in the 1970s and '80s, is all too aware of these potential setbacks, and argues that the kind of collaborative, sharing economy he sees developing could be just what we need at this point, pointing to the power of cooperative and nonprofit organizational models as a way forward. "We will need to leave behind the parochialisms of the past and begin to think and act as a single extended family living in a common biosphere," he writes.

????The Zero Marginal Cost Society is admirable in its scope. Rifkin offers a wide-ranging overview of the kind of tech advances that will redefine how many people live in the coming decades (the wildest of all: 3-D bioprinters that can produce human tissue and perhaps one day generate entire human organs). While his techno-utopian vision may seem unrealistic at times, Rifkin makes sure to ground much of his predictions in data, documented scientific advances, and a fair amount of caveats.

????Much of what Rifkin writes about has been covered by the business and tech press in recent years. But what makes The Zero Marginal Cost Society worth reading is its audacity, its willingness to weave a vast string of developments into a heartening narrative of what our economic future may hold for the generations to come. You can call it naive, but it's much more than that. It's hopeful. And, perhaps in a moment of hope-induced blindness, Rifkin fails to mention the ultimate cost for us mortals, the one that really isn't going anywhere anytime soon: time.