Redefining the role of the individual in a near workerless society is likely to be the single most pressing issue in the decades to come. Rifkin says we should look toward a new, post-market era. Fresh alternatives to formal work will need to be devised. New approaches to providing income and purchasing power will have to be implemented. Greater reliance will need to be placed on the emerging “third sector” to aid in the restoration of communities and the building of a sustainable culture.

The end of work could mean the demise of civilization as we have come to know it, or signal the beginning of a great social transformation and a rebirth of the human spirit.