Social Sustainability
Trust, Inclusion and Human Well-Being
Social Sustainability
Trust, Inclusion and Human Well-Being
Most of what makes a society function is invisible.
It rarely appears in GDP figures and is seldom heard in public debate, yet it carries everything: trust, perceived fairness, willingness to contribute, and the courage to take responsibility.
This social fabric supports both the economy and democracy.
We often speak about climate and economics, but beneath them lies a third layer: the social foundation.
Without cohesion and shared responsibility, everything else collapses.
When people no longer feel that the system serves them, they turn away.
Social sustainability is therefore not about ideology, but about function – the ability to live together over time.
It is the precondition for everything else to work.
Concepts such as solidarity, loyalty, ownership and power are politically charged.
To become useful, they must be disarmed and anchored in science and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Research shows clear links between trust, health, innovation and societal stability.
The UN goals express what the world’s nations jointly consider necessary for survival.
This report speaks from that foundation – not for a political party, but for the shared project of building society.
Social sustainability begins in the household, but must live in associations, organizations, municipalities and nations.
When the fabric breaks, trust is replaced by suspicion and engagement by indifference.
Sustainability is therefore also a cultural and value-based project.
With community and perceived fairness, even difficult transitions become possible.
Without the social glue, every reform is short-lived.
This report explores four foundational pillars – solidarity, loyalty, stewardship and power – and shows how they can be interpreted in a modern, sustainable world.
The aim is to build bridges between ideologies and balance between levels, from everyday life to global institutions.
Solidarity is often confused with charity or self-sacrifice.
At its core, it is the insight that my well-being is connected to yours.
It becomes sustainable when it moves from emotion to action and structure.
High trust reduces the need for control and frees cooperation and innovation.
Solidarity is therefore not a cost, but a social investment.
Household: sharing responsibility, time and resources – not only money.
Associations and organizations: fair rules and shared benefit.
Municipal and national level: inclusive institutions, education and basic security.
Global level: climate justice, humanitarian responsibility and peace-building.
The common thread is reciprocity – security, prosperity and freedom grow when they are shared.
Research clearly demonstrates the links between equality, social cohesion, health and innovative capacity.
The UN goals emphasize inclusion and reduced inequality.
Building solidarity is therefore not a gesture, but a way to secure long-term system stability.
Solidarity is not the opposite of freedom – it is its precondition.
Where people care for one another, the need for coercion diminishes.
My best interest lies in the well-being of others – that is the rational core of social sustainability.
We often speak about loyalty – but rarely about direction.
Loyalty to systems can create order, but also paralysis when rules become more important than purpose.
The crucial question is to what loyalty is directed:
From
To
Loyalty to the organization
Loyalty to the meaning of the mission
Loyalty to the party
Loyalty to principles
Loyalty to the system
Loyalty to life – the whole
Sustainable loyalty is built on reflection and courage.
When people’s values collide with institutional practice, engagement and trust decline.
Sustainable institutions must therefore earn loyalty – through fairness, transparency and clear purpose.
The UN goals can function as a shared reference framework across political blocs and national borders.
Loyalty to life is not a slogan; it is a strategy for survival.
In every society there are things we share, even when we do not think about them.
They may be visible – like streets and parks – or invisible – like language, traditions, norms, trust and everyday rhythms.
Regardless of form, the shared requires stewardship: the will and ability to care for what we build together.
Stewardship is therefore not about legal ownership, but about responsibility for the whole.
It is a social principle – a way of seeing oneself as part of something larger without losing freedom or individuality.
In many societies, responsibility is perceived as something that lies “elsewhere”:
with the state, the municipality, companies, or “other people”.
A sustainable society requires a different perspective:
The shared is something we all carry – a little each.
Stewardship means that each person carries part of the whole, without having to carry everything.
That feeling – not coercion – is what creates civic spirit.
Shared responsibility must never become diluted responsibility.
Sustainable responsibility is always distributed – never smeared out.
Stewardship only works when:
roles are clear
expectations are concrete
follow-up is possible
Not everyone needs to contribute equally – but everyone needs to know which part of the whole they carry.
When responsibility is unclear, no one carries it.
When responsibility is clear, everyone carries it – according to their ability and opportunity.
Stewardship is therefore not about placing more burden on people,
but about making real responsibility possible –
without a few carrying everything, and without others hiding behind them.
Stewardship grows when people feel that their contribution matters.
Then three things happen:
Trust increases, because people experience that many are pulling in the same direction.
Engagement grows, because action gains meaning.
Community is strengthened, because the shared feels like ours – not “the state’s” or “someone else’s”.
This is the core of social sustainability:
that people feel connected to the society they live in.
Stewardship must never be confused with collectivism or demands that suffocate the individual.
It is about opportunity, not obligation.
Participation, not control.
Societies that build social sustainability understand that people contribute when they:
experience meaning
experience fairness
experience belonging
Stewardship is voluntary engagement strengthened by shared values.
Stewardship appears in both small and large actions:
taking responsibility for one’s neighborhood
protecting language, culture and traditions
standing up for shared rules
contributing to associations and local communities
seeing the shared as something that concerns me
It is the opposite of indifference.
It is care for the whole.
Stewardship reduces the distance between people and institutions.
If responsibility is to be shared, power must also be perceived as fair.
When people feel that rules, decisions and norms are anchored in shared values,
the willingness to contribute grows spontaneously.
Stewardship is therefore closely linked to:
solidarity – seeing one’s well-being in that of others
loyalty – to life, not to systems
balance of power – so that no one dominates and no one is excluded
In a sustainable world, a society’s strength is not defined by how much is owned,
but by how well the shared is stewarded.
Stewardship is a social relationship:
between people, between generations, and between present and future.
We are temporary owners but long-term stewards –
not because we are forced to be,
but because we want to live in a society that holds together.
Power is necessary – without it, no coordination occurs.
But power must serve balance, not dominance.
Power is not a thing, but a relationship.
It arises whenever someone influences someone else – in politics, economics, culture or everyday life.
In unsustainable systems, power is concentrated.
In sustainable systems, it is distributed so that the whole is strengthened.
Democratic power – decisions close to people
Risk: bureaucracy, populism
Economic power – allocation of resources
Risk: monopolies, exploitation
Knowledge power – research, information, technology
Risk: manipulation, information lock-in
Balance arises when knowledge guides the economy and democracy regulates capital.
Science is built on openness and testability – counterforces to abuse of power.
The UN goals link peace, justice and strong institutions to sustainable development.
Power must always be carried with responsibility – from boardrooms to city halls and digital platforms.
Our time requires cooperation between states, companies, civil society and research.
Leadership’s role is to coordinate and release responsibility – not to dominate.
A sustainable society is built by people who share core values, even when opinions differ.
We need a language that disarms rather than provokes: balance, coordination, responsibility.
And two fixed references:
the UN as political map
science as testable compass
When the economy starts from human needs,
when power is used for coordination,
and when ownership is understood as stewardship –
society begins to reflect its purpose:
a good life within planetary boundaries.
Justice and trust as the basis for cooperation
Respect for life as the basis for responsibility
Science and transparency as the basis for decisions
The UN goals as a shared map
When these values are shared, society becomes robust –
not because everyone thinks alike, but because everyone stands on the same foundation.
Change grows from within – in language, choices and structures.
The way forward:
to see one’s well-being in that of others
to be loyal to life
to own as a steward
to use power for balance
That is where social sustainability begins.
And there – in the human inner compass – a sustainable society truly begins.