From Library Journal
Jensen, director of the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies, presents a riveting essay on the future demand for goods and services. He predicts that the present information-based society will evolve into a society that values the stories behind products and services. According to Jensen, these stories will fill the need for emotional wealth when material wealth has become commonplace. The demand for product stories will in turn increase the demand for imaginative storytellers who can artfully direct consumer emotions in a wealthy global culture where hard play replaces hard work. As wealth grows, so will the number of choices for consumer goods and emotional experiences. Jensen provides numerous current examples of an encroaching dream society, from paying premium prices for eggs from free-range chickens to the fantasy experience of video games. Well presented and organized, this is highly recommended for academic and corporate libraries.Robert L. Balliot Jr., Middletown P.L., RI
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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From Booklist
Even though nearly 80 percent of the world's population is still without access to even a telephone, pundits have already begun to announce the end of the Information Age. Here, Jensen proclaims "the dream society." He heads the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies, Europe's largest future-oriented think tank, and he documents humankind's evolution through four previous "techno-economic systems": hunter-gatherer, agricultural, industrial, and information. Two trends signal the transition to the dream society: information tasks are being automated and will be taken for granted, and emotion is becoming commercialized. The result, argues Jensen, is that consumers will no longer buy products but rather lifestyles and the "stories," experiences, and emotions products convey. Jensen sees six separate "emotional markets": adventure, love and friendship, care, self-identity, peace of mind, and beliefs or convictions. He details how the way business creates and sells products will be transformed. Jensen also sees major changes in the workplace, at home, and in relations between the rich and the developing nations; and he enthusiastically portrays the utopia he envisions.
David Rouse
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