Ten major trends now emerging in the United States

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1978 · Electr. Perspect.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5215217

Naisbitt, J

Using a special analytical procedure for tracking and assessing events reported in the nation's newspapers, the Center for Policy Process has identified ten emerging trends in the United States that are having a major impact on all our lives and on all businesses and industries--and especially on the electric utility industry. Although the trends may move in contradictory directions and have different degrees of significance, all have been carefully monitored for a considerable length of time. All are firmly established--and are not to be viewed as the momentary interests of certain radical elements of the population. The ten trends are: the fast-emerging clash between nuclear fuel and coal as an environmental health issue; displacement of racism and sexism by ''ageism'' as society's most prominent anti-discrimination preoccupation, and the complete elimination soon of mandatory retirement; in government and technology, the phenomenon of ''appropriate scale'' replacing economies of scale, emergence of single-issue political organizations; coming-of-age of the recycling ethic; emergence of ''access to capital'' as the new equity issue--the new rights issue; continuing shift from centralization to decentralization; movement of society in the dual directions of high technology/high touch; business' increasing involvement with the well-established accountability trend; and shift from a representative democracy to a participatory democracy--this profound change in American democracy actually began about a decade or so ago.

• OSTI ID: 5215217
• Journal Information: Electr. Perspect.; (United States), Vol. 78/1; Other Information: Based on talk delivered last November at a consumer affairs conference sponsored by Edison Electric Institute
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
DECISION MAKING
REGULATIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
VARIATIONS
PUBLIC OPINION
SOCIOLOGY
COMMERCIAL SECTOR
INDUSTRY
INFORMATION
LAWS
PROCESSING
SOCIAL IMPACT
USA
NORTH AMERICA
PUBLIC UTILITIES
290200* - Energy Planning & Policy- Economics & Sociology
290300 - Energy Planning & Policy- Environment
Health
& Safety