It is a summary of all the knowledge clips and lectures of the course solidarity and social justice that you might need for the exam of the first 3 weeks
Samenvatting Solidarity and Social Justice
Knowledge clips week 1
Knowledge clip 1: Solidarity - historical and sociological roots
Historical roots of solidarity
Essentially about shared aims and interests (common identity).
Means that there is some natural attachment; we depend upon each other
(practical) and we expect things from each other (normative).
The concept is much more diverse and developed differently across time.
About family and kinship; which times are the most important ones.
But also about fraternity (brotherhood); an extension of the idea of the family,
it goes beyond it.
About voluntary ties with people.
From Chistian to policial value; still about common identity.
Fraternity became a political means for the first for freedom and
equality during the French revolution.
Also about communities (19th century): shift in which people talk about
solidarity.
Gemeinschaft: shared life experiences (work, community); a
willingness to share resources (prior to the industrial revolution).
Gesellschaft: society; solidarity as a moral principle underlying society
(and the welfare state); the concept of solidarity now.
→ Tonnies
Sociological roots of solidarity
Solidarity: sociological critique of social contract theory (Hobbes, Locke, Spencer).
Social contract: implicit societal agreement about sharing resources.
What we agree about is constantly shifting.
Underlying it is that we always act rational; we are self-interests
individuals.
This is not always the case; we can also act in the interest of
others.
Leroux, Comte, Tonnies.
Emphasize about shared values; we are dependent upon others as
well as interdependent.
Solidarity as an integrative mechanism in society; the dependence
upon each other.
Comte argued that the capitalist society has a bad effect on small
communities and families.
Durkheim: Mechanical vs organic solidarity
Mechanical vs organic solidarity (Durkheim)
Saw solidarity as a normative integrative mechanism.
Was in the late 19th century, industrial revolution period.
Mechanical solidarity:
Pre-industrial (traditional) society.
Little differentiation between people; sameness.
Society is characterized with collective consciousness; people share norms
and values, which binds society together.
Material element: people are alike.
Subjective element: people think alike.
Organic solidarity
Modern (industrial) society.
, Specialization/high degree of differentiation/ division of labor.
We rely more on other people for our goods.
There is an individual consciousness created; we are becoming aware of how
dependent we are on other people.
More interdependence.
Knowledge clip 2: Forms of solidarity - a sociological perspective
Forms of solidarity
Human solidarity: ties people have (family ties and blood links).
About the early historical perceptions of solidarity.
Social solidarity: about solidarity as a cohesive element in society.
Integrative mechanism; what keeps us connected.
Political solidarity: much more active connotations.
People are standing up and actively having a role in solidarity.
Civic solidarity: welfare state solidarity.
The welfare state redistributes resources among the population.
In contrast to the other forms, it focuses on the more obligations of the
welfare state to show solidarity and be solidaristic with its citizens.
More normative perspective.
Two critiques on these forms:
There is no real distinction between the objects (receiving solidarity) and
subjects (who are solidaristic) of solidarity; insufficient clarity between
solidarity and social justice as a concept.
There is an assumption that each of these forms are somewhat exclusive,
which is difficult to maintain because solidarity can also be inclusive.
Exclusive vs. inclusive solidarity
Exclusionary ingroup solidarity: based upon common interest/heritage and exclude
those who don’t share this common interest/heritage.
Collective consciousness (Durkheim).
Inclusionary outgroup solidarity: we are solidaristic with people with different interests
or heritage, acknowledging that we are interdependent upon each other.
E.g. refugees from Ukraine vs. other countries.
Solidarity as a concept is contested; there is debate about what something actual
means.
What solidarity entails changes across time and across socio-cultural
contexts.
We are often not sure who is included and excluded in the ‘we’.
With whom are we solidaristic?
Citizenship rights: citizens rights to have basic needs fulfilled based upon
citizenship rather than charity (you need the help of others and cannot rely on
rights).
Based upon being recognized by the government as a citizen of a nation-
state.
Decides often with who we are solidaristic.
Social citizenship rights: ensure that we have a minimum standard of
living.
Differ across countries.
Civil citizenship rights: guarantee our equal protection under the law.
Civil rights differ across countries.
Boundary drawing: welfare states are quite popular (push for protection by the
welfare state) but there is also a demand to push back welfare states.
Pointing to who deserves our protection and who doesn't.
, Can have its roots in different sources of identification and tells us a lot of
processes of inclusion and exclusion.
Don’t only lead to exclusion by boundary drawing but can also lead to
inclusion.
Knowledge clip 3: the social identity approach - the basics
Social identity approach
We can distinguish between an individual (what makes you unique) and a social
(how the group you belong to is defined) identity and we can shift between these two
levels of identification.
Based on this we create ingroups (us) and outgroups (them).
Minimal group paradigm: in- and outgroups are created based on simple
characteristics (e.g. eye color) → meaningless process.
This is quite easy, and when you are assigned to a group you are acting upon
this division.
People tend to attend more points to ingroup members.
Function of groups/social categorization:
Uncertainty reduction/sense-making: guiding in how to act upon group
norms and decide who you can trust.
Affiliation/need to belong: we developed through group-making processes.
affiliation as a basic human need.
Paradox: this need for belonging (group identity) goes hand in hand
with the urge to optimal distinctiveness/uniqueness (individual
identity).
Mid-size group can do both.
Striving for positive self-concept.
SIT vs. SCT
Social identity theory (focused on explaining intergroup behavior and animosity):
Striving for positive self-concept and ingroup-concept→ ingroup favoritism
and outgroup derogation.
Theory of social change.
Self categorization theory (focused on explaining intragroup behavior):
Activation of social identity based on accessibility (about situations ques
implicitly or explicitly eliciting certain social identities) and fit (about how
diagnostic or telling a certain identity is for explaining real world differences)
social.
Maximizes differences between groups and minimizes differences within
groups.
You can adapt certain identities across different situations, which fit the best.
Social identity threats
1. Distinctiveness threat: group distinctiveness is prevented or undermined. Group
identity is not (fully) acknowledged.
2. Group-value threat: the group’s (moral) values or competence are undermined.
Being viewed negatively by the outgroup based on your group membership.
3. Categorization threat: being categorized against one’s will. Labeled under a certain
social identity against your own will. Can lead to disidentification with the outgroup or
focusing more on the individual level of identification.
4. Acceptance threat: one’s position within the group is undermined. Evaluated
negatively or rejected by our ingroup.
The degree of a certain action considered as a threat is influenced by the level of
identification with the group.
Also influences how people react to the threat (defensive, resolving, etc.).
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