Abstract
The chapter proceeds from the idea that production forces determine the evolution of society. Inspired by J.
Rifkin's concept of the third industrial revolution, the chapter presents the vision of a new economy which is based on renewable energy and the principle of (nearly) zero marginal costs. Under these circumstances, cooperation shall prove more efficient than competition , and sharing more promising than ownership.
Subsequently, the chapter balances Rifkin's technooptimism with conception of R. Liogier, who assumed that some form of mixed economy will emerge out of contemporary ambivalent developments.