Proposal

While governments around the world, despite filling their mouths with expressions like "ecological transition", insist on pursuing economic growth at all costs (environmental and social), "We are still waiting for the development of a new synthesis that overcomes the false dialectics of recent centuries," writes Pope Francis in Laudato si'. Can sustainable development be this new synthesis? First of all, it depends on what we mean by "development", a word now worn out, often considered synonymous with "growth". Furthermore, it seems to me urgent to shine the spotlight not only on the protagonists of our "drama" – natural elements, social bodies and economic agents – but above all on their interactions, recognizing that modern science provides us with a complex image of reality, in which everything is connected. If we are able to establish constructive relationships – both between humanity and the cosmos, and between human groups (individuals, families, associations, institutions, countries, international organizations, etc.) – oriented towards the common good of person and nature, sustainability will develop as an emerging property that I would qualify with the adjective "relational". The relational sustainability I am thinking of is akin to the liberating sobriety of the Argentine pope and to the "buen vivir" (good living) of the Bolivian and Ecuadorian constitutions which "means [...] living a full and dignified life, a harmonious existence that includes cognitive, social, environmental, economic, political, cultural dimensions, all of them interrelated and interdependent."

In other words, I propose to shift the focus to the relationships that allow us to achieve sustainability – in its environmental, social and economic dimensions – regardless of whether this goal implies or not the growth of GDP (in fact, I hope that GDP will be replaced by an alternative indicator, as proposed by many economists).

Environmental dimension: humanity must not exceed the limit constituted by the Earth's capacity to renew resources and eliminate pollutants (why not introduce this principle into the constitutions of countries, following the footsteps of the Earth Charter, approved by UNESCO?).

Social dimension: we must build increasingly just societies; it is unacceptable, for example, that in the world 10% of the population owns over 50% of the wealth, that the Mediterranean continues to be the grave of desperate – even children – fleeing from war, persecution and poverty, that in Italy – in the first four months of 2021 alone – 306 workers were sacrificed on the altar of profit.

Economic dimension: we must pursue the authentic well-being of all the peoples of the planet, ensuring that every person has the goods that allow them to satisfy a good quality of life (primarily, but not exclusively, water, food, clothing...) and not the unrestrained consumerism that culminates in the culture of waste.

In a sense, relational sustainability is the other side of comprehensive ecology, its concrete result. Imagine a coin, whose faces are comprehensive ecology and relational sustainability: the value of the coin will be constituted by human industriousness which, starting from the vision (comprehensive ecology), will allow us to accomplish the mission (relational sustainability). In other words, the pursuit of relational sustainability requires the contribution of the noblest activities of the person, such as architecture, art, communication, law, ecology, economics, medicine, pedagogy, political science, psychology, sociology, sports...

In its relational aspect, the proposal I present is inspired by the thought of Chiara Lubich (1920-2008), a multifaceted personality of the Italian 20th century who founded the Focolare Movement and made universal brotherhood one of its key messages. In one of her writings she states: "The progress of man is intimately linked to the progress of the environment in which he lives and by which he is conditioned. [...] If [...] the end of man will not be economic interest, selfishness, but love for other men and for nature, with his contribution the Earth will be transfigured until it becomes a paradise on earth."

Relational sustainability does not intend to replace or oppose other approaches – such as, for example, the doughnut economics, circular economy and happy degrowth – but rather to welcome and harmonize their contributions as long as they lead to a comprehensive and lasting sustainability of nature and humanity in relation to each other. For this reason, it looks with sympathy and supports all networks of institutional and non-institutional actors pursuing sustainability, such as energy communities, solidarity purchasing groups, business organizations, alliances of associations...

Aiming for this openness, relational sustainability has as its object the whole reality, in its complexity, and as its method transdisciplinarity which, including and surpassing multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, constitutes a new intellectual approach (but not a new discipline, nor a science of sciences) to understand complex systems.

Some colleagues scientists and technologists may observe that I have let myself be carried away by an idealistic drift. Perhaps, and I apologize for betraying the venerable father Galileo and his "sensible experiences" and "necessary demonstrations". But, apart from the fact that science and technology will be protagonists in adding depth to the coin, it is essential that humanity has a clear goal to achieve: if we want to have a nice vacation, before worrying about the means of transport, we carefully choose the destination!

Translated and adapted from: Luca Fiorani, Happy Planet, Città Nuova, Rome, Italy, 2021, pp. 126-130.