Social sustainability can only be achieved through social cohesion and integration, and the recognition of the oneness of humanity as one family, which is the cornerstone of Baha’i teachings. With the advent of technological advancements our planet earth is now “smaller” than ever with many races coming together and living side by side with each other. The concept of humanity as one entity is now fast emerging. The move from village and small towns to mega cities is also creating many challenges and at the same time opportunities. To establish a sustainable social fabric, in addition to recognition of all people and races as one, we need to value and celebrate our differences. The Baha’i teachings emphasise “unity and diversity” and not uniformity. The metaphor of a garden being beautiful due to displaying many various coloured flowers is used to demonstrate this principle. Old concepts, such as a superior race and nationality, caste and class systems and the like, are barriers to achieving Social Sustainability and hence have no place in a united and sustainable world.
Social justice is the foundation of Social Sustainability. The Universal House of Justice in its April 2010 Message stated that “Social justice will be attained only when every member of society enjoys a relative degree of material prosperity and gives due regard to the acquisition of spiritual qualities. The solution, then, to prevailing economic difficulties is to be sought as much in the application of spiritual principles as in the implementation of scientific methods and approaches.”
Also, Social Sustainability demands to lessen an array of issues associated with economic inequalities by focusing attention on foundational concepts such as the purpose of human life and the well-being of humanity. In the same Message, The Universal House of Justice has stated that “To alleviate a variety of problems born of the economic inequalities so prevalent in the world today, social and economic development will require, especially among the younger generations, a fundamental shift in perspective, one that changes the way in which certain essential concepts are viewed–the true purpose of life, the nature of progress, the meaning of true happiness and well-being, and the place that material pursuits should assume in one’s individual and family life.”
