Premodern to post modern society

Western liberal scholars have divided human history into three phases: the premodern, the modern and the post modern. Each phase has no definite end, rather they layer on top of each. For example, a thoroughly post modern society has elements of premodern and modern in it. There is no one exact time when the premodern ended and the modern began: each society reached them differently. Western Europe entered the modern era in the sixteen hundreds …

…of resources. If other countries try to join in on the prosperity, severe damage to the ecology could result. Imagine one billion Chinese, all driving cars. The world can only support a certain amount of people at the prosperity of Americans. The continual expansion of the world economy at the end of the twentieth century is pushing all nations to wealth yet there is no way for all to enjoy such prosperity, something must give.