Gandhi and Sustainability. An Attempt to Update Timeless Ideas

Linking Gandhi and sustainability may seem like a fashionable gimmick at first glance. However, if sustainability is understood in a holistic way, as a transformation of human–environment relations as well as of social and economic structures, this image changes. If one also takes seriously that Gandhi’s understanding of non-violence does not only include the avoidance of physical violence, but a fundamental attitude in different areas of life, such as economy or the use of technology, it becomes clear that sustainability, as it is currently being promoted by the United Nations in Agenda 2030, and Gandhi’s concept of satyagraha pursue identical goals. Gandhi, as well as elements of the Christian ethical tradition, can enrich political programs with a spiritual dimension, without which profound changes in human attitudes will not be possible.