Was Handy Right?

I have been reading some articles in various publications lately, and it got me to thinking; remembering actually.  I recall the book by Charles Handy; The Age of Paradox.  I read this book back in grad school, and his idea of a "doughnut organization" was pretty ahead of the curve at that time.  The concept posits that organizations can become lean and facile by focusing on a critical core group of permanent employees, who then use key groups of temporary workers to either manufacture the goods and/or deliver the services of that organization.  Back in 1994, I thought that was some really forward thinking, and I still do.  The concern I now have is that Mr. Handy may finally be seeing his prognostication come true.  I feel differently now about this idea, then I did back in 1994, now that I see a lot my world through the lens of an HR person.  Some of the questions that necessarily come from this dynamic are macro; what about all of the permanent employees and our national unemployment rate?  Do we need to prepare these otherwise permanent employees for a life of temporary work, which brings up a whole host of questions about the infrastructure we would have to put in place to meet the needs of these newly "temped" employees.  Other questions I have are micro; how must we change our current understanding of HR, leadership development, motivation theory, etc. to account for an entirely different kind of workforce with a completely new set of needs and motivations?  I have obviously oversimplified Handy’s fairly complex ideas, however, I think you have enough to respond to the ideas/questions presented here.  Also, if you want to read a more deeply about Handy’s concepts before commenting, click here to read a Google excerpt of his book.  Thanks and are you thinking of having a doughnut with that coffee?