ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines and evaluates one particular and widely-held perspective on the nature of contemporary technological changes and their implications for the future structure of economic activities and employment in the advanced industrial economies. It also outlines a more historically rooted and less deterministic perspective on technological change based on the notion of long waves, developed earlier in nineteenth century by writers such as Kondratieff and Schumpeter. T. Stonier stresses that wealth creation is increasingly based upon advanced technological expertise, and dependent upon a base of information and knowledge, especially advanced science, rather than any other resources or factors. The chapter reviews a number of diverse strands in the literature and accompanying debates, in Britain and relate them to recent empirical trends in the structure of employment. It suggests that the nature of contemporary technological changes is such that it represents nothing less than a third technological revolution in the history of human society.
