Sustainability in the study of Gandhian economic philosophy

ABSTRACT

Sustainability is one of the significant development paradigms of the present world because of increasing concerns about environmental deterioration. Sustainability depends on the interaction among various social, economic and environmental factors. Thus, the role of people, resources and technologies become vital. Although people, resources and technologies play an essential role in ensuring sustainability, sustainability is impossible without proper policy intervention. Accordingly, institutions become an integral component of sustainability. Humanity has developed common sustainable goals, yet the way to achieve them remains a critical question for policymakers and a major component of political discourse. In this context, this paper revisits the sustainability components of the economic philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi.

摘要

甘地主义经济哲学研究中的可持续性. Area Development and Policy. 由于环境恶化问题得到日益关注,可持续发展成为当今世界重要的发展范式之一。可持续性取决于各社会、经济和环境因素之间的相互作用。因而,人力、资源和技术的作用变得至关重要。虽然人力、资源和技术在确保可持续性方面发挥着重要作用,但若没有适当的政策干预,可持续发展仍是不可能的。相应地,制度成为可持续发展的组成部分。人类已经制定了共同的可持续目标,但实现这些目标的方式仍然是决策者的一个关键问题,也是政治话语中的重要部分。在此背景下,本文重新审视圣雄甘地经济哲学中可持续性部分。

RESUMEN

Sostenibilidad según el estudio de la filosofia económica Gandhiana. Area Development and Policy. Hoy día la sostenibilidad es uno de los paradigmas de desarrollo significativos en el mundo debido a una preocupación cada vez mayor sobre el deterioro del medio ambiente. La sostenibilidad depende de la interacción entre varios factores sociales, económicos y medioambientales. Por ello es fundamental el papel de las personas, los recursos y las tecnologías. Si bien las personas, los recursos y las tecnologías desempeñan un papel esencial para asegurar la sostenibilidad, es imposible conseguirla sin una adecuada intervención política. Y es aquí donde las instituciones se convierten en un elemento fundamental de la sostenibilidad. Aunque la humanidad ha desarrollado objetivos de sostenibilidad comunes, la vía para conseguirlos sigue siendo una cuestión crítica para los responsables políticos y un componente importante del discurso político. Dentro de este contexto, en este artículo revisamos los componentes de la sostenibilidad a partir de la filosofía económica de Mahatma Gandhi.

Аннотация

Устойчивость в экономической философии Ганди. Area Development and Policy. Устойчивость является одной из важных парадигм развития современного мира из-за растущей озабоченности по поводу ухудшения состояния окружающей среды. Устойчивость зависит от взаимодействия различных социальных, экономических и экологических факторов. Таким образом, роль людей, ресурсов и технологий становится жизненно важной. Хотя люди, ресурсы и технологии играют важную роль в обеспечении устойчивости, но устойчивость невозможна без надлежащего политического вмешательства. Соответственно, институты становятся неотъемлемым компонентом устойчивости. Человечество выработало общие цели устойчивого развития, однако путь их достижения остается важнейшим вопросом для политиков и важным компонентом политического дискурса. В этом контексте в данной статье вновь рассматриваются компоненты устойчивости в экономической философии Махатмы Ганди.

KEYWORDS:

• Swadeshi
• Gram Swaraj
• Sarvodaya
• appropriate technology
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• human development

关键词:

• 斯瓦德西精神
• 格拉姆·斯瓦拉吉(自给自足)
• 萨尔乌达耶(人人幸福)
• 适宜技术
• 可持续发展目标
• 人类发展

PALABRAS CLAVE:

• Swadeshi
• Gram Swaraj
• Sarvodaya
• tecnología apropiada
• objetivos de desarrollo sostenible
• desarrollo humano

КЛЮЧЕВЫЕ СЛОВА:

• Свадеши
• Грам Сварадж
• Сарводая
• Соответствующие технологии
• Цели Устойчивого Развития (ЦУР)
• Развитие человеческого потенциала

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author expresses his gratitude to the anonymous reviewers and Managing Editor Professor Michael Dunford for their careful review and insightful comments and suggestions.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The WCED defined sustainable development as a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only for the present generation but also for generations to come’. For further details, see WCED (1987).

2. The best example is his autobiography entitled The Story of My Experiments with Truth. For further details, see Gandhi (1968b).

3. In the first phase Gandhi rejected Western civilization, Western production methods and machinery, advocating for an anti-materialistic approach to solving different problems. In the second phase, he developed an alternative model to that of Western civilization. The last, or third, phase was distinguished by the development of Sarvodaya and ideas about rural reconstruction. For details, see Misra (1993).

4. When he was in Sabarmati Ashram, he used water economically and asked his followers to do the same. One day, Mohan Pandya, one of his colleagues, asked him why he insisted on using one metal vessel of water when the Sabarmati Ashram was situated on the bank of the Sabarmati River. Gandhi said that the water of Sabarmati was a collective property of all the creators of the Earth, such as birds, animals, insects, men etc., so no one should use more than they needed. For further details, see Joshi (2003).

5. Dr A. T. Ariyaratne is the founder of the Sarvodaya movement in Sri Lanka. For further details, see Clark (2005) and Johnson (2006).

6. For details, see Khandker et al. (1994).

7. For details, see Poonamallee (2007).

8. The decline in poverty since the period of reform and opening up was largely due to sustained high rates of economic growth, initially in agriculture, with output increasing faster than the population, and then in rural industries. For details, see Dunford et al. (2020).

Additional information

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.