ABSTRACT
European society has been transformed over the last two centuries by a series of changes that have revolutionised the way in which we live and think. A largely rural society based on agriculture has become urbanised and industrialised and is now entering a new phase of de-industrialisation as manufacturing jobs disappear in Western Europe and reappear in less developed countries. Europe today finds itself part of a new global economy, specialising in the provision of services for domestic and foreign consumption: banking, insurance, research, communications, education, health and welfare, tourism, and arts and entertainment.
