Abstract

Our world in the 21st Century is one of a “crisis society”. That is, we have reached a state where most of our major systems – economic, environmental, social – in are crisis and in need of restructuring. We can see this play out in the global financial, climate, social and identity crises we face. The underlying causes of these crises are our current systems of production and consumption. We suggest the solution lies in moving beyond addressing the crises individually and symptomatically towards developing sustainable enterprises, sustainable communities and sustainable lifestyles. From these perspectives, we can begin understand better the interrelationships creating this crisis society and more holistically address and repair the damage we done to the Earth and ourselves. We conclude by identifying areas of future research needed to facilitate this movement towards a sustainable society.