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A call to develop a new politics for the age of the digital economy -- when currency and goods literally have no weight.

The Weightless World is the first book to map an economic world that has been turned upside down by digital technology and global business. How will our careers, businesses, and governments change in a world where bytes are the only currency and where the goods that shape our lives--global financial transactions, computer code, and cyberspace commerce--literally have no weight? Addressing such problems as economic inequity and unemployment, Diane Coyle calls on individuals and governments to develop a new politics of weightlessness so that the economic benefits can be shared fairly. She proposes the creation of a radical center as the way to a new era of human creativity and economic prosperity.

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CHOICE Review

Coyle (economics editor of the British newspaper The Independent) has written a hip, journalistic account of the new economy. She is familiar with the criticism of the new economy and accepts that the vulnerable will fall victim to this economic juggernaut in the absence of reforms. Conceding the inevitability of a global economy driven by modern technologies, lightning-quick finance, and digital commerce, Coyle advocates for strategies and reforms for living in this "weightless world." She asserts that the state should give people better preparation to face the future and that something needs to be done to curb wild currency swings. Unfortunately, the author musters no evidence to lead one to expect any such reforms in the remote future. The book is well written and the analysis sprinkled with lively literary references. Coyle has good command of the current flood of semi-popular literature on the new economy, but nevertheless, this book follows the current fashion in finding what is current to be revolutionary. Most appropriate as a readable introduction to the topic of the new economy. General readers and lower-division undergraduate students. M. Perelman; California State University, Chico

Booklist Review

Coyle, who is the economics editor for Britain's The Independent, has already garnered praise for this book in England, where it was published last year. Certainly, credit must be given to anyone who is able to acknowledge performance artist Laurie Anderson and Fed chairman Alan Greenspan on the same page. Coyle cites Greenspan for the term "weightless." It refers to the fact that new materials and miniaturization have led to outputs with increased economic value but decreased physical tonnage. Coyle prefers the term because it can also be used in reference to the so-called knowledge economy as well as the entertainment and service industries. She analyzes the impact of this growing "weightless" economy on how we define and measure work and output, asks how industries will have to be restructured and how new jobs can be created, and emphasizes the increased importance of education. She also considers government's role in responding to these economic changes and suggests that cities are the form of government best suited and best positioned to meet the challenge. (Reviewed October 1, 1998)0262032597David Rouse