Abstract
I argue that suffering and violence is prevalent in the world, and that most people have adapted to it, reflecting what Arendt (Eichmann in Jerusalem: A report on the banality of evil. Viking Press, 1964) referred to as the banality of evil. To prevent suffering, we must develop the idea of good happiness. I understand good happiness to be directly linked to Sarvodaya, as it entails a person acting to enhance his/her own happiness and simultaneously that of others. I propose a set of guidelines regarding what is needed to embark on the path towards Sarvodaya: (1) A better understanding by human beings about their role in the environment, that is, to see themselves as belonging to the land rather than the land belonging to them; (2) Scientific learning from other cultural paradigms that view human beings in this way, such as Buen Vivir, Buddhism or Ubuntu; (3) Changes to State investments, such as decreasing military expenditure and increasing social, health, education and environmental protection expenditure; (4) Satisfaction of human needs rather than material desires, which requires a paradigm shift away from planned and perceived obsolescence.
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Notes
- 1.
In fact, empirical evidence shows that time spent in relationships is a good predictor of happiness (Becchetti et al., 2011), and a culture that encourages people to dedicate time to consumption and working diminishes the possibility of spending quality time with friends and relatives.
- 2.
In the India of Gandhi’s time, and in the present, these people were specially the untouchables, the lowest caste in India’s caste system. Gandhi called them harijans (sons of God).
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Mònica Guillén Royo and Fernando García Quero for their comments and suggestions about this research. A special thanks to José María Tortosa, without whose continuous support and guidance the most daring thoughts in this paper would not have been possible. An anonymous reviewer of this chapter made very useful comments that helped to improve it. Of course, I bear sole responsibility for any errors there may be in this chapter.
Funding
The author acknowledges the financial support from the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación and the European Regional Development Fund (project ECO2017-86822-R); the Regional Government of Andalusia and the European Regional Development Fund (projects P18-RT-576 and B-SEJ-018-UGR18) and the University of Granada (Plan Propio. Unidad Científica de Excelencia: Desigualdad, Derechos Humanos y Sostenibilidad -DEHUSO-).
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Wanden-Berghe, J.G. (2022). Mahatma Gandhi’s Sarvodaya (Welfare for All) as a Way to End Violence and Achieve Happy, Sustainable Societies. In: Cloutier, S., El-Sayed, S., Ross, A., Weaver, M. (eds) Linking Sustainability and Happiness. Community Quality-of-Life and Well-Being. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89559-4_5
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