Abstract
The emerging paradigm of sustainability represents a challenging field in terms of new technologies, market regulations, and business models. Limits of both linear industrial development and consumerist way of living have been clearly identified since the late 1960s by the first systemic studies on the effect of human activities on Earth. Many contributions from different disciplines have paved the way for an open, participated, and responsible innovation approach, which is presently triggering the transition toward a nonexploitative human development. An anticipation of this conceptual framework can be found in Joseph Beuys’ art, which can still represent a source of inspiration for innovators, entrepreneurs, economists, and community leaders. In his artistic legacy—from the six blackboards of Perugia to the 7000 Oaks of Kassel—Beuys is still asking us to transform our everyday actions, joining the collective effort toward a new evolutionary stage of humanity, founded upon a holistic vision of society and nature.
Highlights
Limits of both the linear model of industrial development and consumerist way of living have been clearly identified since the 1960s by the first systemic studies on the effect of human activities on the environment
Pioneering studies such as Silent Spring by Rachel Carlson [1] and the later comprehensive report The Limits to Growth issued by MIT in 1972 [2] showed to a broad public for the first time that mankind should reconsider its role in a limited world where available resources and living species, including humans, are not arranged hierarchically and autonomously but through interconnected and fragile networks
Recent analyses are confirming that, in spite of the growing debate, the inertia of both economy and demography is driving the world toward the “tipping point” [3]
Summary
Limits of both the linear model of industrial development and consumerist way of living have been clearly identified since the 1960s by the first systemic studies on the effect of human activities on the environment. Pioneering studies such as Silent Spring by Rachel Carlson [1] and the later comprehensive report The Limits to Growth issued by MIT in 1972 [2] showed to a broad public for the first time that mankind should reconsider its role in a limited world where available resources and living species, including humans, are not arranged hierarchically and autonomously but through interconnected and fragile networks. A comprehensive vision of sustainable development was established with the Sustainable Development Goals
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