FUTURE PERFECT The Case For Progress In a Networked Age

Johnson looks at the success of peer networks, as opposed to centralized structures, at creating innovation and more efficient markets. Through this collective collaboration and competition, he believes, an emerging progressive movement is manifesting itself as both a political affiliation and a philosophy. Samuel Cohen narrates at a good pace, alternating cleanly between the stories and the quotations, which are set aside from Johnson’s arguments by a variety of accents. Using the original French railway system as a metaphor for what’s wrong with traditional social and political structures, Johnson proposes tapping into networks to widen reach and participation. Cohen puts just the right emphasis on Johnson’s words, moving from topic to topic, and the jargon associated with each, with aplomb. E.N. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2012]