THE ETHICS OF CONSUMPTION ACTIVITIES - A FUTURE PARADIGM

Concern about the environment and sustainable growth has raised questi ons related to resource availability and limits regarding the ability of the planet to provide everyone with an improved material standard o f living. Such concerns lead to charges that the industrialized world, particularly the United states, is living beyond its means and taking more than its share of resources to produce a life style that is not sustainable. Whether overconsumption is a legitimate problem and chang ing patterns of consumption are necessary are questions that need disc ussion. The Protestant Ethic provided moral limits on consumption duri ng the early stages of industrialization in Western Europe and the Uni ted States. This ethic weakened during the development of a consumer s ociety, prompting speculation that a new environmental ethic is needed to perform the same function in modern society.