Newton Dee has contributed to the book “On the Earth We Want to Live – Anthroposophy’s Contribution to Sustainable Development”.
The book explores anthroposophy’s contribution to sustainable development. It describes how the anthroposophical worldview, contrary to mainstream thinking, takes into consideration the interconnectedness of everything and can bring healing to our planet.
The section on ‘Anthroposophy in the context of sustainable development’ has contributions on what it means to be human, how we can see the earth as a living organism, what sustainable development looks like from the anthroposophical worldview and much more.
In another part various sectors are looked at: such as agriculture, economics, education and medicine.
A large section of the book is dedicated to 27 pioneering organisations that apply anthroposophical principles in their work. These include multinational companies like Weleda, banks such as the Freie Gemeinschaftsbank Bank, and producers like Sonett, Voelkel and Stockmar. Organisations such as SEKEM in Egypt, Monte Azul in Brazil, and grassroots initiatives like Kufunda Learning Village in Zimbabwe are also featured, showcasing remarkable practices in sustainable development. And of course: Newton Dee Village!
Four long-term co-workers contributed to Newton Dee’s article. They speak for themselves as individuals, and none of them represent the views of all the individuals who live in Newton Dee; yet, between them, much of the essence of what it means to sustain our community life is expressed. It gives a short description of the history of Newton Dee and of three important values that the founder of Camphill, Karl Koenig, instilled in community life:
1. that every human being is an eternal, immortal and divine self.
2. helping others depends on our individual self-development.
3. human beings strive to create community as a natural expression of social Encounter.
It continues with the ideals and reality of community life (which can cause tension) and some of the forms that Newton Dee uses. There is a personal account of what it means to be a house co-ordinator which can give struggles but also learning opportunities. It closes with saying how Newton Dee aims to contribute to sustainability on different levels:
- Socially: each community member is equally part of a complex social organism. We focus on strength instead of disability. Each person matters. All this can help us find meaning in our lives which contributes to our long-term mental health and wellbeing.
- Ecologically: We treat the earth and all that lives and grows on it with respect and aim to give back when we take from her.
- Economically: By decoupling work from monetary reward, we stop seeing money as a goal instead of a means. We value making / buying products that last, sharing resources, reflecting on our needs and wants. All this counteracts over-consumption and waste of resources.
- Spiritually: Our spiritual worldview underpins everything. Once you realize the whole world and its surroundings is one amazing, organic whole, you know that the only way forward is by making sure it is sustainable for everyone and everything.
The book concludes by expanding the definition of sustainable development through the lens of anthroposophy which views the Earth as a living organism in development rather than a broken machine in need of repair. From the conclusion:
“This expanded perspective provides an initial outline of what we introduced as Integral Sustainable Development, which aligns the development of the individual, the collective, and the Earth in a deeper, more interconnected way. This framework suggests that before engaging with ecological, social, or economic sustainability, three dimensions should be considered: World-Viewing—recognising the Earth as an interconnected living organism;
World-Sensing—moving from a mindset of control and exploitation to one of co-creative participation; and
World-Acting—integrating humans, animals, plants, and entire ecosystems (Earth) into ethical, responsible action, forming the foundation of a cultural-spiritual approach to sustainable development. A connection to Social Threefolding (or the Threefold Social Order) given by Steiner (2022) was discussed as well and linked to ecological, social, and economic sustainable development”.
This open access book has recently been published by Springer Nature Link in their World Sustainability Series. see: https://link.springer.com/book/9783031987571
and is also available from booksellers.
The main editor, Johannes Kronenberg, is based at the Goetheanum in Switzerland. Some of the contributors are well known to Newton Dee, like Dan McKanan (who has done a lot of research on Camphill) and Ha Vinh Tho (who has developed Gross National Happiness with which we are working).
Springer Nature Link is a publisher for researchers. All the articles are well researched and referenced and mostly written from an academic perspective. The book has 630 pages in small print. It is definitely not an easy-to-read book! Most of us will probably use it as reference book. On the other hand, it gives a great overview on present-day thinking about sustainability.