The business community has long operated under the assumption that gains in productivity brought on by the introduction of new technologies rightfully belong to the stockholders and corporate management in the form of increased dividends and larger salaries and other benefits. Workers' claims on productivity advances, in the form of higher wages and reduced hours of work, have generally been regarded as illegitimate and even parasitic. Their contribution to the production process and the success of the company has always been viewed as of a lesser nature than those who provide the capital and take the risk of investing in new machinery. For that reason, any benefits that accrue to the workers from productivity advances are viewed not as a right, but rather as a gift bestowed by management

— The end of work by Jeremy Rifkin (Page 227)