Jeremy Rifkin

Jeremy Rifkin is president of the Foundation on Economic Trends and the author of over a dozen books examining the impact of scientific and technological innovation on society, including The Biotech Century: Harnessing the Gene and Remaking the World, from which the following viewpoint was adapted. In it, Rifkin predicts that genetic engineering will ultimately transform society just as the Industrial Revolution did. He doubts that advances in genetic manipulation will be unequivocally beneficial, and warns that most people will welcome the new technologies without considering their potential dangers. He also raises the question of who—scientists, the government, or corporations—will decide how these powerful technologies are used.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. In the futuristic scenario outlined by biologist Lee Silver, as paraphrased by Rifkin, how will society be divided...