EN
The period of the latest crisis (2008-2009) aroused an increased interest of the economists and politicians in ethical issues. On the one hand, their attention was focused on questions of a marked lack of moral principles which is said to be an essential source of causes of the crisis. On the other hand, however, that situation gave rise to a real insight into questions of fundamental nature showing ethics as a bond in social life. The crisis that occurred at the beginning of the 21st century shows that the market enforced a correction of strategies and gave a poor mark to the system of functioning of consumerist societies that live beyond their means and yield to advertisements and marketing. The present crisis should force us to revise the prevailing paradigms, it should enforce new systemic and institutional solutions, but above all it should initiate an honest discussion on sustainable global development. A unique character of the observed phenomena (when it comes to the universality and simultaneousness of their occurrence) indicates that the world of business is going to face tremendous changes and the theory of economics will have to cope with new challenges. World market economy drammaticaly needs new ideas and a serious interest in processes that occur on the economic, political and social plane.