The basic premises of this inspirational book are the dematerialization of the economy and the current risk of colonization of the cultural sphere by the commercial sphere. According to Rifkin people are searching less for property and ownership and more for access to satisfy their needs. Physical property gives way to intangible ideas, utility values give way to psychological values, extrinsic motivations give way to intrinsic motivations and objects give way to concepts in the age of access. Furthermore Rifkin explains the risks of hypercapitalism where culture and the human experience are increasingly being commodified. Social relationships and capital are increasingly being replaced by and absorbed in commercial relationships and capital. He asks himself whether society can survive this change in human values and relationships. Can commercially directed relationships and electronically mediated networks substitute for the traditional relationships and communities that constitute society? The underlying assumptions and values of the two are very different. If culture and traditional relationships based on trust would suffer under the commercial influences, this would also mean that markets would suffer, since the economy is a derivative of culture, having its basis in trustworthy relationships and strong bonds with communities. The book gives much food for thought for understanding this dilemma.