ABSTRACT
For the last two centuries the urge towards growth has marked humankind. The industrial revolution in Europe affected the rest of the world. The demand for raw materials, the need to extend the markets for mass-produced goods, and the establishment of huge transnational companies drew all territories into the whirlpool of global economic growth. As the two most populous countries – China and India – have been fully integrated into the capitalist world economy, not as peripheral producers of raw materials, but as fast growing workshops of the world, the connection between economic growth and ecological sustainability has been highlighted. The demand for non-renewable resources, arable land and fi shing grounds increases as affl uence spreads, straining our ecosystems to the limit.
