ABSTRACT
The pursuit of economic growth was formalized in 1929 when a statistical standard called the Gross National Product (GNP)—now generally referred to as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—emerged as an official measure of economic growth. The concept of globalizing free trade clearly reflects the dominance of the assumption that unlimited economic growth can take place on a finite sphere. Natural capital consists of the goods and services provided by nature, the sustaining system. Given the importance of these non-market goods and services in human survival, achieving sustainability will require the development of meaningful economic models and tools for including the value of nature. Amitai Etzioni proposes that the assumption of hyper-individualism in current economics should be replaced with what he refers to as the "I/We paradigm”. Community action groups of every political, religious, and economic ilk arc attempting to block firms that arc perceived to be threats to their community's sustainability.
