The electronic media introduced this idea to the larger audience very, very quickly. We spent years and years and years meeting with activists all over Europe to lay the groundwork for a political response, as we did here.

Rifkin has also advised Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of Spain during its presidency of the European Union. Rifkin presented the European Union's long term economic development plan to transition the European economy into the Third Industrial Revolution era.

Rifkin's work explores the potential impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy the workforce society and the environment. Jeremy Rifkin (born January 26 1945) is an American economist writer public speaker political advisor and activist.