Solidarity

Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics. Still, solidarity does not reject individuals and sees individuals as the basis of society. It refers to the ties in a society that bind people together as one. The term is generally employed in sociology and the other social sciences, as well as in philosophy and bioethics. It is a significant concept in Catholic social teaching and in Christian democratic political ideology. Although closely related to the concept of charity, solidarity aspires to change whole systems, not merely to help individuals.

Solidarity is also one of six principles of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and International Human Solidarity Day is recognized each year on December 20 as an international observance. Solidarity is not mentioned in the European Convention on Human Rights nor in the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights and therefore has lesser legal meaning when compared to basic rights.

Concepts of solidarity are mentioned in the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, but not defined clearly. As biotechnology and biomedical enhancement research and production increase, the need for a distinct definition of solidarity within healthcare system frameworks will be important.

History

Socialisation of the concept

The terms solidaire and solidairement already appeared in French legal language in the 16th century. They are related to the Roman legal concept in solidum, which was derived from the Latin word solidus, meaning "on behalf of the whole". In the Napoleonic code, solidarity meant the joint liability of debtors towards a common creditor and was not a primary legal principle.Jussi Vanamo 1997. Durkheimilainen sosiologia ja vuosisadanvaihteen radikalismi
University of Helsinki, Faculty of Political Science, doctoral dissertation

Conservatism, following the French Revolution, introduced the concept of "solidarity", which was detached from the legal system, as a reaction against rapid social change and as a longing for a stable society. During the July Monarchy, Pierre Leroux, a utopian socialist who is also said to have coined the term socialism, also introduced the concept of non-legal solidarity. Auguste Comte, the so-called founder of sociology, adopted the concept in the sense of social interdependence between people. Comte linked solidarity to the concept of altruism as the opposite of egoism. Instead of emphasising the individual, altruism emphasises common responsibility and solidarity. The interpretations of Pierre Leroux and Auguste Comte gave rise to the idea of a specific social solidarity as the basis of the social order.Jyri Liukko 2008. François Ewald, vakuutus ja solidaarisuuden liberaali kohtalo. Science and Progress 1/2008
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After the French Revolution, new scientific and ideological interpretations of solidarity emerged in France. The concept took on sociological, economic, legal, and political variants. Thinkers with different emphases shaped the meaning of the concept of solidarity to suit their own purposes.

The Paris Communards, for example, exchanged the revolutionary slogan of " fraternity" for "solidarity". Some French liberal economists also began to use the term "solidarity", but they changed its meaning in an individualistic direction. Liberalists argued that interdependence between people meant that people also had to take responsibility for their actions without the state intervening. Charles Gide, an economist who opposed liberalism, developed his own interpretation of the concept and even proposed solidarity as the name of a new school of economics.

Through these stages, by the turn of the 20th century, solidarity had become a generic term that could be associated with almost everything that was considered good and progressive. The Paris World Fair in 1900 was accompanied by a congress on "social education and the new solidarity". The Catholic Church also began to use the popular concept of solidarity. According to sociologist Steven Lukes, solidarity played a role in France at the time that was almost as strong and influential as individualism did in the United States at the same time.

Émile Durkheim

According to Émile Durkheim, the types of social solidarity correlate with types of society. Durkheim introduced the terms ''mechanical'' and ''organic solidarity'' as part of his theory of the development of societies in '' The Division of Labour in Society'' (1893). In a society exhibiting mechanical solidarity, its cohesion and integration comes from the homogeneity of individuals—people feel connected through similar work, educational and religious training, and lifestyle. Mechanical solidarity normally operates in traditional small-scale societies. In tribal society, solidarity is usually based on kinship ties of familial networks. Organic solidarity comes from the interdependence that arises from specialization of work and the complementarities between people—a development which occurs in modern and industrial societies.

Although individuals perform different tasks and often have different values and interests, the order and solidarity of society depends on their reliance on each other to perform their specified tasks. "Organic" refers to the interdependence of the component parts, and thus social solidarity is maintained in more complex societies through the interdependence of its component parts (e.g., farmers produce the food to feed the factory workers who produce the tractors that allow the farmer to produce the food).

Léon Bourgeois

Although the concept of solidarity had already been used in the labor movement in the mid-19th century, it was only the liberal republicans who brought solidarity into the mainstream of French political debate. In 1896, Léon Bourgeois published his book ''Solidarité'', which introduced the concept of solidarity into political language. Bourgeois's solidarity was based primarily on the interdependence between people, a double-edged sword that produced both security and threats. However, it was also based on the idea of social debt. According to Bourgeois, man owes society the technical and intellectual capital that social development has produced for him.

Bourgeois also introduced the term solidarism to describe a political ideology based on solidarity. Solidarism was a precise and clear structure of ideas which radicalism was also able to assimilate, and it came to regard it as its own ideological expression. After the turn of the century, Bourgeois solidarism came to be regarded almost as an official idea of the Third Republic. His solidarism combined elements of Durkheim's theory of solidarity with the theories of Louis Pasteur and Charles Darwin, and constituted an alternative to the confrontation between classical liberalism and workers collectivism. Bourgeois emphasised the solidarity generated by interdependence between people as a positive factor for all human growth. Solidarism thus combined the natural interdependence of human beings with solidarity as a moral goal. Although the idea of solidarity had different successors and interpretations, they had in common the emphasis on both the social responsibility of the state and the cooperation of citizens.

Charles Gide

Solidarity also played a central role in the thinking of the French economist Charles Gide (1847–1932). Gide set out to challenge the dominance of the liberal school of economics in France. His thinking was influenced by both biology and sociology. He was particularly influenced by Charles Fourier, who had criticised the social ills created by free market competition. Solidarity became a fundamental concept in Gide's thinking. He found manifestations of solidarity in nature, in the economy and in the social interdependencies of society, but for him solidarity was only ethically valuable when it was consciously voluntary. He created his own national economic doctrine, called Solidarism, according to which society could gradually move towards a cooperative economy in which workers themselves controlled the means of production. In Gide's thinking, the values and goals of solidarity could be pursued through cooperative associations, 'the voluntary association of well-meaning people'.

In Gide's solidarity, the common property created by free cooperative associations is their own and the added value created by their activities is returned in the form of profit sharing. Solidarism preserved the foundations of the free market economic system and also accepted differences in people's economic status. However, large income disparities were not in line with the idea of solidarity, as Gide considered them to break the ties that bind the individual to society. Gide is considered a major representative of the French historical school, and his ideas were different from the mainstream liberal economics of the time. Gide's social philosophy was close to that of Léon Walras, the developer of neoclassical general equilibrium theory, and he was one of the few supporters of Walras during his lifetime.

Solidarity is still the core value underlying cooperatives today, alongside self-reliance, ownership, equality, and justice. Cooperative members have a duty to emphasise the common interest and to ensure that all members are treated as fairly as possible. In addition to solidarity with its own members, the cooperative now also emphasises social responsibility beyond the cooperative itself.

Peter Kropotkin

Anarchist theorist Peter Kropotkin (1842–1921) connected the biological and the social in his formulation of solidarity. In his book, '' Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution'' (1902), written partly in response to Huxleyan Social Darwinism, Kropotkin studied the use of cooperation as a survival mechanism in human societies at their various stages, as well as with animals. According to him, mutual aid, or cooperation, within a species has been an important factor in the evolution of social institutions. Solidarity is essential for mutual aid; supportive activity towards other people does not result from the expectation of reward, but rather from instinctive feelings of solidarity.

In his introduction to the book, Kropotkin wrote:

Kropotkin advocated an alternative economic and social system, which would be coordinated through a horizontal network of voluntary associations with goods distributed in compliance with the physical needs of the individual, rather than according to labor.

Solidarity in the insurance system

The political philosophy of the early twentieth century, condensed into the concept of solidarity, sought to offer both a scientific theory of social interdependence and a moral solution to social problems. According to some scholars, the emergence of this new rationality was made possible by the concept of social risk and the idea and technology of insurance developed to manage it. Social risk is defined as the risk to a group of people, statistically speaking, which is caused in one way or another by their living together and which can be mitigated by a technique of joint and several liability such as insurance.

It has been said that insurance can be seen as one of the institutions of the social contract. The way insurance works requires individuals to take a collective responsibility or the events they feel the need to prepare for. Society can be said to have become 'modern' when insurance becomes social insurance and when, thanks to the techniques and institutions of insurance, the insurance model becomes both a symbolic and a functional basis for the social contract.

Solidarity and justice are key principles underpinning the insurance system, according to Risto Pelkonen and Timo Somer. In the context of voluntary personal insurance, solidarity means that the insured share the benefits and costs between themselves, while justice means that each insured contributes to the costs according to the actuarial probability. Social insurance, on the other hand, is available to all citizens, regardless of their choice and health status, as the costs are covered by tax revenues and statutory contributions.

Solidarity as the foundation of the welfare state

Solidarity, or solidarism, is widely seen as the central foundation of the welfare state. Among other things, the advent of statutory social insurance and social law in the 20th century changed social thinking and enabled the breakthrough of the solidarity paradigm. The emergence of solidarity in social law can be thought of as being based on the norm of collective provisioning as the foundation of social justice. However, it can be argued that the justification for social regulation and solidarity is not necessarily a positive normative logic, but rather general civil rights. Human rights are intended to apply equally to all people and are more akin to a legal 'law' than to a normative logic. The formation of welfare policy can therefore be thought of as being based on human and civil rights with a completely different logic, rather than on a collective norm.

According to Professor Heikki Ervast, however, three basic concepts can be associated with Nordic welfare states: macro-collectivism, universalism and solidarism. In simple terms, macro-collectivism means that recipients and payers of transfers do not need to know each other. Universalism means that the social protection and services of the welfare state apply to all citizens. Solidarism means that the welfare state is not simply an instrument designed to guarantee social peace, but is based on solidarity, human dignity, and equality. Pauli Forma, Associate Professor of Social Policy at the University of Turku, has summarised the central role of solidarity as the ethical basis of the welfare state: 'The welfare state is an institution of collective solidarity'. In other words, a welfare state is a democratic and prosperous state that collectively shows solidarity by taking responsibility for the social security and equality of its citizens and for helping the disadvantaged. The welfare state can be said to be the "invisible hand of solidarity", in the same way that the " invisible hand of the market" is at work in a free market economy.

Solidarity tax

A solidarity tax is a fee imposed by the government of some countries to finance projects that serve, in theory, to unify or solidarize the country. It is usually imposed for a short period of time in addition on income tax of individuals, private entrepreneurs, and legal entities.

In Germany, the solidarity tax was first introduced after German reunification. The tax amounted to 7.5% of the amount of income tax payable (for individuals) and income tax payable (for legal entities). It was later abolished and reintroduced from 1995 to December 31, 1997, after which it was reduced to 5.5% on January 1, 1998. The legality of the tax was repeatedly challenged, but it was recognized by the German Federal Financial Court as not contrary to the German Constitution. The long-term assessment of the solidarity tax was considered unconstitutional in Germany.

In Italy, the solidarity tax was first introduced in 2012. All individuals whose annual gross income exceeds €300,000 are required to pay a 3% tax on the amount exceeding this amount.

In France, the solidarity tax on wealth was introduced in 1981; in September 2017, the French government abolished the solidarity tax and replaced it with a wealth tax on real estate starting in 2018. It was paid by all citizens and married couples whose property exceeded 1.3 million euros on January 1. The tax ranged from 0.5% to 1.5% of the value of property exceeding 800,000 euros.

In 2013 the solidarity tax was also introduced in the Czech Republic in response to economic recession and was cancelled in 2021. In this country it was 7% for all residents earning more than CZK 100,000 per month.

Bioethics

Solidarity is discussed in philosophy within its various sub-fields of law, ethics, and political philosophy. Ancient philosophers such as Socrates and Aristotle discuss solidarity from within a virtue ethics framework, because in order to live a good life one must perform actions and behave in a way that is in solidarity with the community.

An approach in bioethics is to identify solidarity as a three-tiered practice enacted at the interpersonal, communal, and contractual and legal levels. This approach is driven by the quest to differentiate between the diverse applications of the concept and to clarify its meaning, both historically and in terms of its potential as a fruitful concept for contemporary moral, social, and political issues. The modern practice of bioethics is significantly influenced by Immanuel Kant's concept of the Categorical Imperative. Pastor and philosopher Fritz Jahr's article "Bio-Ethics: A Review of the Ethical Relationships of Humans to Animals and Plants" refines Kant's original Categorical Imperative discourse by including the notion of the Bioethical Imperative. Biomedical technology has also further introduced solidarity as the pivotal concept in bioethics. Another scholar, Meulen ter Ruud, discusses the need for solidarity within European health and social care systems, through organizations like Solidar.

Imperative

Fritz Jahr describes bioethics as ultimately made up of "academic discipline, principle, and virtue". This echoes back to the influence Socrates has on the norms of bioethics and its practices. Jahr utilizes Kant's Categorical Imperative to demonstrate the obligatory, yet innately human practice of the Bioethical Imperative:

e guiding principle for our actions is the ''Bioethical Imperative'': Respect every living being in general as an end in itself, and treat it if possible, as such

as it arises in the relationships not only between people, but also with plants and other animal species. Jahr believes that in order to practice bioethics, one must be in solidarity with all forms of life. If one only decides to be in solidarity in humans, then one should not behave virtuously in any manner.

Catholic social teaching

Solidarity is an element of Catholic social teaching. According to Pope Francis:

The Church's teaching on solidarity is explained in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, and briefly summarised in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Islamic Solidarity

Solidarity is an important part of the teachings God sent down to the Prophet Muhammad. Indeed, Muslims were called upon in the Qur'an to unify under one banner, that of Islam, as equals before God. This centred around principles of brotherhood (''ukhuwwa''), social responsibility (''al-takaful al-ijtima'i'') and almsgiving ('' zakat'' or '' sadaqa''). The central teaching to Islam is to subject oneself to God, and that, in this pursuit, all are equal before Him.

; IX, 60: "Alms are meant only for the poor, the needy, those who administer them, those whose hearts need winning over, to free slaves and help those in debt, for God's cause, and for travellers in need. This is ordained by God; God has the knowledge to decide."

; XVI, 90: "God commands justice, doing good, and generosity towards relatives and He forbids what is shameful, blameworthy, and oppressive."

; LIX, 7: "Whatever gains God has turned over to His Messenger from the inhabitants of the villages belong to God, the Messenger, kinsfolk, orphans, the needy, the traveller in need - this is so that they do not just circulate among those of you who are rich - so accept whatever the Messenger gives you, and abstain from whatever he forbids you."

This is not only applicable to the Muslim community. Other religious communities, especially the people of the book, are traditionally accepted as true believers and protected communities. This lesson is drawn from Surat al-Ma'ida, verse 48. Although opinions differ on this matter, Seyyed Hossein Nasr notes that the majority opinion of Islamic scholars is that this verse pertains to a universal acceptance of other religions.

Pan-Islamism

In modern history, pan-Islamism was an important driver of inter-Islamic solidarity movements. This movement sought to mobilize a trans-national imagined community in the wake of a perceived decline of the Muslim world to regain its former political glory. Pan-Islamism is often associated with anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism. Whilst this is true for later period, early pan-Islamic thinkers such as Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī and Syed Ameer Ali sought to make use of pan-Islamic ideals to fight for Muslim rights within the colonial framework of the United Kingdom and the concert of Europe of which the Ottoman Caliphate was a part. In the 1920s, the Khalifat Movement made use of British concessions during World War I to combat the Treaty of Sèvres. And, in the 1930s, the World Islamic Congress was held in Jerusalem to negotiate a settlement for Palestinian independence within the confines of the British Mandate. Pan-Islamist ideas of society (Ar. ''umma'', ''mujtamiʿ'', or ''al-hayʾa al-ijtimāʿiyya'') were characterised by modernist interpretations of Islam and a general acceptance of other religions.

Others in that period sought to implement Islamic solidarity principles from the bottom up. In Egypt, Hassan al-Banna established the Muslim Brotherhood in 1928 to organize society on the basis of Islamic ethical and social values, including social welfare and solidarity with the disenfranchised. Operating in the capitalist setting of interwar Egypt and drawing on Islamic rights to property, they made the pragmatic decision to advocate an Islamic economy that stressed Egyptian ownership over factories and emphasized social welfare.

Al-Takāful al-Ijtimāʿī and Islamic Socialism

''Takāful'' is a difficult to translate word that might best be translated as a combination of solidarity, mutual responsibility, and cooperative insurance. Thinkers like Mustafa al-Siba'i, the leader of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, have employed the term to argue for Islamic Socialism, arguing that socialism was most in line with Islamic teachings on al-takāful al-ijtimāʿī (En. social solidarity). Al-Siba'i identified ten levels of social responsibility and solidarity:

#al-takāful al-adabī (Solidariy in mannerisms)
#al-takāful al-ʿilmī (Solidarity in providing education)
#al-takāful al-siyāsī (Political solidarity)
#al-takāful al-difāʿī (Solidarity in defence f one's community
#al-takāful al-jināʾī (Solidarity in olvingcrime)
#al-takāful al-akhlāqī (Solidarity in upholding morality)
#al-takāful al-iqtiṣādī (Economic solidarity)
#al-takāful al-ʿabādī (Solidarity in worship)
#al-takāful al-ḥaḍārī (Solidarity amongst societal groups)
#al-takāful al-maʿāshī (Solidarity with respect to living, i.e. taking care of the needy)

Since the 1970s, ''takāful'' became theorised in Islamic finance as "a scheme where the participants are the insureds as well as the insurers and therefore share in the loss or profit of the operator, unlike insurance companies, where the risk is borne solely by the insurers"

Solidarity and the Palestinian Cause

The Palestinian cause has taken central stage in expressions of solidarity in the Islamic world. Although solidarity with Palestinians is not exclusively an Islamic matter, the land of Palestine holds extra significance for many Muslims due to the city of Jerusalem. Expressions of solidarity have taken several forms:

State-Level Diplomacy

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, a intergovernmental organisation of Muslim majority countries, has resisted and spoken out against Israeli violence against Palestinians, though they have been criticised for neglecting minority rights in own member states. Additionally, in the 1970s the PLO earned a spot at the United Nations Council through the anti-colonialist movement in the Global South during that time.

Armed Resistance Groups

Solidarity with the Palestinian cause has played a central role in Hizballah's legitimation in Lebanon, with their genesis in the second Israeli invasion of Lebanon and their resistance to the subsequent occupation. Hizballah was supported by the 'axis of resistance' which is central to Iran's Islamically inspired militant opposition to colonial presence in the region. In the past, secular opposition also called on anti-colonial and third world solidarity to justify their armed resistance.

Activism

Popular protests, bringing together intersectional solidarity networks, have been a recurring expression of solidarity with wars in Palestine. Organizations such as Samidoun, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement, Islamic Relief Worldwide, and Jewish Voice for Peace have played important roles in the West in terms of raising awareness and funds for the Palestinian cause. Universities have also been home to student protests. They call for the breaking of ties with Israeli universities because of their alleged complicity in oppressing Palestinian students and knowledge production.

Gallery

File:Helsingin Kaupunginteatteri solidarity for Ukraine RL-220309-2215.jpg, The Helsinki City Theatre in Helsinki, Finland illuminated in the colors of the flag of Ukraine, in solidarity with Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
File:PraxisGermany - Copy.png, Anarchist banner Dresden Germany, translating to "Solidarity must become practice"

See also

* Altruism
* Autarky
* Classism
* Corporatism
* Generalized exchange
* Group cohesiveness
* Groupthink
* Entitativity
* Hierarchy
* Linked fate
* Pan-Islamism
* Solidarism
* Solidarity economy

Notes

Further reading

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{{Use Oxford spelling, date=November 2017

Altruism
Community building
Sociological terminology
Virtue
Social justice