In the last two centuries a sizeable minority of the world’s population has achieved a standard of living that would have been unimaginable for previous generations. But this improvement has been obtained at a price: a vast increase in the consumption of energy resources and raw materials, widespread pollution from industry, and a variety of social problems. In addition it has raised questions of equity regarding the distribution of wealth both within individual countries and between the industrialized world and the Third World. This paper reviews the history of the emergence of the affluent society and examines the environmental and social implications of its unprecedented levels of resource use.
