Synopsis
Arguing that the world is on the threshold of a revolution of unparalleled impact, this book makes an impassioned plea for awareness of the environmental, commercial and moral implications of the new biotechnology. In the "biotech" century, the author predicts that food may be grown indoors in giant bacteria baths, eliminating the need for farmers and soil; children may be gestated in artificial wombs outside the body; people may be stereotyped and discriminated against on the basis of their genotype, leading to a "genotocracy" and widespread acceptance of eugenics; and the environment may be devastated by genetic engineering, biological weapons and the depletion of the earth's gene pool, which is fast becoming patented intellectual property controlled by a handful of life-science corporations. In a chilling, but stimulating "wake-up" call, the author offers a controversial analysis of the genetic revolution.
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Review
When two Scottish scientists successfully cloned a sheep in July 1996, the news sparked fierce scientific, ethical, theological and philosophical debate, momentarily pulling biotechnology from the laboratories and thrusting it onto the front pages. With living proof that such advancements are no longer the stuff of science fiction, a whole new world of possibilities--and dangers- -presented itself. Jeremy Rifkin is more concerned with the dangers of this technology, and in The Biotech Century he presents numerous compelling reasons why we should be too. Many of these dangers revolve around the seemingly inevitable commercialisation of genetically engineered life forms that would come if corporations battled for the rights to patents on new or modified species of plants, animals or even human beings. Rifkin warns that "designer" babies and genetically perfect humans, along with other artificial creations, would wreak havoc with the gene pool and natural environment. While he concedes that there are benefits to biotechnology, he makes it clear that the risks far outweigh the rewards at this time, urging for greater restraint and responsibility before opening what could be a Pandora's box. --Amazon.com
About the Author
One of the most popular social thinkers of our time, Jeremy Rifkin is the bestselling author of "The European Dream," "The Hydrogen Economy," "The Age of Access," "The Biotech Century," and "The End of Work." A fellow at the Wharton School's Executive Education Program, he is president of The Foundation on Economic Trends in Bethesda, MD.
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