Solidarity in Times of Crisis

Amina Boutabia

doi:10.36892/ijlls.v4i1.788

Abstract

The concept of solidarity is certainly one of the most challenging among the concepts forming the constellation of social and political thought. Not only because of its use in a variety of discourses, but also because it is one of the most influential concepts despite the fact that it is still undertheorized. At the heart of the complexity is the ambiguity between the normative and descriptive usages of the concept. It seems that this ambiguity is clearly reflected in this time of Covid-19 pandemic which has revealed that both individuals and nations can demonstrate both solidary and anti-solidary actions simultaneously. This paper is an attempt to understand these contradictory conducts in the light of the history and development of the concept. Thus, the following questions are addressed: First, at a macro level, why do many countries behave towards each other in an anti-solidary manner? Second, why do individuals, despite their denomination and learning show a lack of solidarity towards the most unfortunate people? Solidarity ethics appears in religious, philosophical, and humanitarian discourses, so, what makes these discourses extremely ineffective in times when solidarity is most needed?

Highlights

The concept of solidarity is indisputably one of the most challenging among the concepts forming the constellation of social and political thought
We are encouraged in the same way as we encourage others to invest a little time, money, and effort on solidary activities. In this time and age, the age of Covid-19 pandemic, ideas and actions seem to be in a continuous state of change and the values that call for solidarity are no exception (Alfiras et al, 2020)
To conclude, in this paper we have tried to understand the action of solidarity as it is manifested in the time of Corona virus outbreak

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The concept of solidarity is indisputably one of the most challenging among the concepts forming the constellation of social and political thought. It seems only fair to question everything since the whole world seems to have grown greedy and self-centered when the time has come for solidarity to manifest This observation was not limited to individuals but was noticed among nations as they grew hostile to each other as evidenced by official statements made by different leaders. Tomasini (2021) cites a number of examples illustrating solidary actions by both individuals and countries belonging to the European Union as opposed to the aggressive attitude of other nation leaders such as Donald Trump for instance It is this observation that was at the origin of the idea of this paper.

DEFINING SOLIDARITY