Environmental Challenges of Postindustrial Economy

Abstract

The responsibility of the modern industrial society for the growth of the global environmental crisis does not raise any doubts. It is also generally accepted that the solution of global environmental problems is associated with a change in the way of life of the population of developed countries, whose maintenance at a high level requires a steady growth of the economy, which until recently was ensured by the extensive use of natural resources. The functioning of such a model of economic production has led not only to the depletion of natural potential, but also to the production of a huge amount of waste. The need to increase economic growth reflects a universal setting for the industrial (and later the post-industrial) society on the growth of the material well-being of the population. The lifestyle formed on the basis of consumer culture enlightens the relationship between society and environment, stimulating economic development, because a market economy cannot develop without an increase in consumption. The society responds to the new needs by accelerating scientific and technological progress to the postindustrial level, which, in accordance with the dominant attitudes in the public consciousness, is perceived both as a foundation of material well-being and as a foundation for the conquest of nature.