Seven Social Sins

History

The list was published by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in his weekly newspaper Young India on 22 October 1925. An almost identical list had been published six months earlier in England in a sermon at Westminster Abbey by Fredrick Lewis Donaldson. Gandhi wrote that a correspondent whom he called a "fair friend" had sent the list: "The... fair friend wants readers of Young India to know, if they do not already, the following seven social sins," (the list was then provided). After the list, Gandhi wrote that "Naturally, the friend does not want the readers to know these things merely through the intellect but to know them through the heart so as to avoid them." This was the entirety of Gandhi's commentary on the list when he first published it.

Influence

In the decades since its first publication, the list has been widely cited and discussed. Some books have also focused on the seven sins or been structured around them:

• Eknath Easwaran (1989). The Compassionate Universe: The Power of the Individual to Heal the Environment (listed, discussed, and served as chapter structure for book){{cite book |title=The Compassionate Universe: The Power of the Individual to Heal the Environment

• Stephen Covey (1989). Principle-Centered Leadership ( Chapter 7: Seven Deadly Sins (p. 87 to 93).

• Frank Woolever (2011) Gandhi List of Social Sins: Lessons in Truth{{cite book |title=Gandhi's List of Social Sins: Lessons in Truth

Many books have discussed the sins more briefly:

• Peter J. Gomes (2007). The scandalous gospel of Jesus: What's so good about the good news?{{cite book |title=The scandalous gospel of Jesus: What's so good about the good news?

• Adam Taylor (2010). Mobilizing hope: Faith-inspired activism for a post-civil rights generation{{cite book

• Thomas Weber (2011). "Gandhi's Moral Economics: the Sins of Wealth Without Work and Commerce Without Morality."In: {{cite book

• Rana P. B. Singh (2006). "Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi."In: {{cite book |title=Fifty key thinkers on development

They have also been anthologized:

• Anil Dutt Misra (2008). Inspiring Thoughts Of Mahatma Gandhi

In 2025, Ahir Shah made a BBC Radio 4 series, 7 Blunders of the World, based on the list.

Politics without principle

Regarding "politics without principle", Gandhi said having politics without truth(s) to justly dictate the action creates chaos, which ultimately leads to violence. Gandhi called these missteps "passive violence", ‘which fuels the active violence of crime, rebellion, and war.’ He said, "We could work 'til doomsday to achieve peace and would get nowhere as long as we ignore passive violence in our world."

Politics is literally defined as, "The struggle in any group for power that will give one or more persons the ability to make decisions for the larger group."

Mohandas Gandhi defined principle as, "the expression of perfection, and as imperfect beings like us cannot practice perfection, we devise every moment limits of its compromise in practice."

There are many different types of regimes in the world whose politics differ. Based on Gandhi’s Blunder Politics without Principle, a regime type might be more of a root of violence than another because one regime has more principle than the other. Regimes have different types of fighting and aggression tactics, each desiring different outcomes.

This difference affects the actions taken by political heads in countries across the globe. Gandhi wrote, "An unjust law is itself a species of violence." The aggression of one country on another may be rooted in the government's creation of an unjust law. For example, a war of irredentism fought for one state to reclaim territory that was lost due to a law promoting ethnic cleansing.

Principle in one country could easily be a crime in another. This difference leads one to believe that the root of violence is inevitably present somewhere in the world. "Politics without Principle" will inevitably take place throughout time.

: "I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent."

This list grew from Gandhi's search for the roots of violence. He called these "acts of passive violence". Preventing these is the best way to prevent oneself or one's society from reaching a point of violence, according to Gandhi.

To this list, Arun Gandhi added an eighth blunder, "rights without responsibilities".Arun Gandhi's article According to Arun Gandhi, the idea behind the first blunder originates from the feudal practice of Zamindari. He also suggests that the first and the second blunders are interrelated.

Arun Gandhi description as "Seven Blunders"

More recently Mohandas Gandhi's list of negative qualities has also been described by his grandson as "Seven Blunders of the World". Examples of description under this heading include:

• {{cite news |first=Brad | last=Knickerbocker |date=1 February 1995

• {{cite journal |first=Steven W. | last=Gilbert |year=1996

• Arrien, Angeles (2001). "Introduction." In: {{cite book

References

References

1. Later he gave this same list written on a piece of paper to his grandson, [[Arun Gandhi]], on their final day together shortly before his assassination.[http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/LF/Win96/win96L9.html Gandhi's "Seven Blunders of the World" That Lead to Violence . . . Plus 5] {{webarchive. link. (15 September 2006)
2. ''The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi'' (electronic edition), Vol. 33, pp. 133-134. {{ISBN. 8123007353, {{ISBN. 9788123007359 {{OCLC. 655798065
3. "Evils of World are Outlined".
4. "Seven Deadly Sins as per Mahatma Gandhi". mkgandhi.org.
5. Covey, Stephen R.. (2009). "Principle-Centered Leadership". RosettaBooks.
6. 9788180694417 (listed, p. 239)
7. Shah, Ahir. (2025-01-07). "Ahir Shah's Seven Blunders of the World".
8. Meadows, Donella. "Gandhi's Seven Blunders -- and then Some". The Donella Meadows Archive.
9. O'Neil, Patrick H.. (2009). "Essentials of Comparative Politics". W. W. Norton & Company.
10. Gandhi, Mohandas. (14 September 2018). "Inspired Words by Mohandas Gandhi".
11. Gandhi, Mohandas. "Quote - An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so...". Wisdom Quotes.
12. Gandhi, Mohandas. "Mahatma Gandhi quotes".