SALT AND NOTHINGNESS
A Mantra from Jesus through Sartre towards Reduced Inequalities
Keywords:
Economics of Enough, Jesus and Sartre, Jesus and Sustainability, Reduced Inequalities, Religion and Development, Religion and Sustainability, Sacred and Secular, Sustainability MantraAbstract
Abstract
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus unravelled the essence of humankind through the metaphor of ‘salt’, and centuries later, Jean-Paul Sartre named ‘nothingness’ as the reality of the human being. This article, by drawing parallels between ‘salt’ and ‘nothingness’, argues that, though from radically different schools of thought, Jesus and Sartre, in effect, are making the same point that all human beings, irrespective of race, sex, ethnicity, or social status, hold within them the undeniable potential to question and negate the status quo to bring about a sustainable change in the world. Adopting ‘salt and nothingness’ as a single mantra could effectively conceive development plans and actions to curb extreme inequalities, thereby fostering a sustainable society. By exposing the relevance of Jesus’ word in today’s world, the article emphasises the need to bridge the gap between the ‘sacred’ and the ‘secular’ so that religious values can be effectively incorporated into achieving United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030, especially towards Reduced Inequalities (SDG-10).
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