Associates Breakfast With Alvin Toffler May 16, 2007 Santa Monica Alvin Toffler tells Associates that we are in an era not just of change, but extraordinary change, and conflict is inevitable.

Business, says the author of such best-selling books as Future Shock and Third Wave, is like a car traveling 100 mph down that highway. It's moving faster than anyone else. Behind it are other institutions, like the American family, which is traveling at around 60 mph — not quite keeping up with the fast pace of business, but still changing relatively quickly with the times.

Then there are unions, which are going about 30 mph, followed by government at about 25 mph. Bringing up the rear, he says, is America's K-12 education system, which in his analogy is traveling at about 10 mph — and getting further and further behind.

"How can you run a knowledge-based economy where business operates at 100 mph with an education system changing at 10 mph?" Toffler asked in a meeting with members of the Milken Institute Associates."We have to change the system, not just try and make this one work."

In Toffler's mind, bureaucracies are getting more and more out of synch with the rest of society — to the point where serious problems, like the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, will become more and more the norm.

Other comments:

• In today's political debate, no one talks about the fact that we have changed to a knowledge-based economy.
  
• We live in an era of extraordinary change, and there will be conflict.
  
• With the rapid developments in technology, biotechnology and nanotechnology, we are headed for a gigantic battle 30 to 50 years from now over how you define a human being. This will create a moral struggle.

Associates breakfasts with individuals of distinction are open to members of the Milken Institute Associates. To join, please contact Mindy Silverstein, director of Milken Institute Associates, at (310) 570-4634, or by e-mail at msilverstein @milkeninstitute.org.

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