By Edward Domen
Subsidiarity is a principle of social organization that holds that social, political and environmental issues should be dealt with at the most immediate or local level consistent with their resolution.
Many problems involve several levels inextricably -> the application of subsidiarity is often a matter of articulating the relations between different levels.
A
Brundtland definition of Subsidiarity ≈ everyone should be able to meet their own needs without compromising the ability of others to meet their own needs.
That is, incidentally, an accurate rendering of the Biblical commandment usually misleadingly rendered as “You shall not steal”
A
Axiom : no-one knows their own needs better than themselves.
If a problem is beyond them, they must be able to call on outside help (subsidium)
Beyond them :
- they involve actors beyond their control
- the problem is beyond their understanding.
Aarhus Convention, UN Economic Commission for Europe [ECE] 1998
Article 1
In order to contribute to the protection of the right of every person of present and future generations to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and well-being, each Party shall guarantee the rights of access to information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice in environmental matters.
B
If one is to avoid compromising the ability of others to meet their own needs, it is essential to know how one’s own actions affect them. The best way to find out is to let them tell you.
To wrap it all up, a Quaker slogan :
Walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God (of good) in everyone.
- Walk – don’t drive or fly, to better be in contact with the people & conditions you meet
- Cheerfully- encourages friendly dialogue, more conducive to a settlement which satisfies all parties.
- World – your actions may affect people anywhere : viz. climate change
- Answering – listen to what they have to say so that you can take their concerns & knowledge fully into account