To confront the probable future without becoming obsolete, sociology needs a new paradigm, for its traditional notion of the nature of its subject-matter precludes asking certain vital questions, makes important hypotheses inconceivable, and stigmatizes essential lines of inquiry. Humans are involved in the web of life, yet sociologists following Durkheim disregard nonsocial facts as explanations of social facts. To understand major social change caused by transition from abundance to scarcity, we have to see how modern technology has enlarged human resource demands and human environmental impact. We have to learn to think in terms of carrying capacity and use a larger time frame. We have to ask some ecological questions, such as how long this planet can tolerate industrialism and what are the prerequisites of a sustainable society.
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