The Intersection of Politics and Spirituality in Addressing the Climate Crisis: An Interview with Mohammed Sofiane Mesbahi

This extended interview with STWR's founder, Mohammed Sofiane Mesbahi, examines both the contemporary political and profounder spiritual implications of sharing the world's resources in response to the escalating climate emergency. Beginning in Part I with a policy-related discussion of the relevance of economic sharing to the Paris Agreement and UN climate change negotiations, Mesbahi goes on to simply propose the way forward for activists and engaged citizens through ceaseless protest actions that compel governments to urgently shift towards zero carbon economies. Part II then broadens the discussion to the underlying psychological and spiritual causes of the global ecological crisis, which leads to an 'inner' line of enquiry about the deeper reasons why our modern societies have yet to transition towards environmentally sustainable modes of living. In a challenging exploration of the often unobserved dangers of unbridled commercialisation, Mesbahi presents the need for a new kind of global activism that is based on a more holistic, inclusive or spiritual faculty of perception that is rooted in an awareness of the heart and its attributes. As he cogently argues in Part III, the true demonstration of 'love-in-action' will only be realised when the concern for ending needless human deprivation is as paramount in our popular awareness as the need to safeguard the natural environment. Altogether, this wide-ranging dialogue acts as an introduction to Mesbahi's pioneering vision of mass civic engagement towards a united call for sharing and saving our planet. The perennial themes raised throughout form the basis of further writings that are being published as part of an ongoing series entitled Studies on the Principle of Sharing, of which more can be found at www.sharing.org.