An excellent article. One of the challenges facing those who have learned over the years, the real systemic issues the world faces, is that many (most?) of our friends take a very dim view of us when we raise the issue. An article like this renews the faith. Many thanks.

Yes, and that exacerbates the pain, when other ordinary people label you a weirdo because you look at the situation honestly and talk about it.

There hasn't been a 'dramatic shift toward the far-right' in the UK - has there? Has there? There hasn't!
The UK remains relatively stable compared to France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Netherlands.
The EU is avowedly globalist, neo-liberal institution - virtually written into its constitution in Article 106. Given that this means that you, me, your grandma and everyone else can be sold across national borders by rampaging corporations and banks the British working class is having a hard time of it. Brexit is a logical decision. Unfortunately the mainstream political parties are in the hands of the middle-classes who will back the establishment if given a choice. The pro-EU factions are the right-wing now and desperately trying to keep the lid on the 'populist' sentiment. There is a huge political vacuum.

Yes, this is all happening in the context of reducing energy per head, which is applying an overall squeeze to the standard of living, but I think the author is utterly out of touch with British feeling and wonder how he has done his research.

Quite agree. There is no 'far right' of any significance in the UK, not even at local government level. A few thugs on the streets here and there does not neo-Nazism make. The Eu has screwed the working class, who have risen up against it and the political and cultural class who have promoted it for decades. What better way to downplay this popular revolt than smearing it as 'racist' and 'far right'? The media are playing that game well, and many on the 'left' have fallen for it hard.

I don't think Nafeez understands net energy very well.

Yes, nice presentation and analysis of the state of things. I particularly liked the pointing out that when things get stressful people largely react to what's in front of them and don't necessarily see the lead-up.

I do take issue with holding up the hopium of a 3rd Industrial Revolution that Rifkin is pedaling as something viable and obtainable; promoting the Internet of Things seems outright irresponsible to me. I think it far more likely humanity -- of a much smaller head count -- will end of with a something like James Kunstler's World Made by Hand.

J H Kunstler's book is due a re-read. The world view he focuses on is so much more sustainable than the 3rd Industrial Revolution that Rifkin is spouting. We may all be living like horse-drawn Mennonites, who shun most forms of modernity. We should learn from them how to do it.

Rifkin is a lunatic.

But then, he majored in economics, not science.

http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=5558

Well, there are actually a number of reasons why the Internet of Things is unlikely, but here's a semi-humorous presentation from a Embedded Linux conference that highlights why it's also probably undesirable:

The Internet of Things is Going to Destroy Us All (YouTube; 21min)
https://youtu.be/304Lcn0nU3c

Watching it now. I love Bryan Lunduke - probably the best spokes-person for Linux.

I could see the Internet of Things for offices and factories - but for homes? So little benefit, so much hassle., so much vulnerability.