Solidarity and Social Justice in
contemporary societies
- Week 1 -
Social inequality is the uneven allocation of burdens and valued resources
across members of a society based on their group membership in combination
with the undervaluation of these members of society based on their group
membership.
Social Policy: how welfare states attempt to identify and address social
inequalities as well as social risks that have societal consequences. Social policies
represent the collective management of social issues. It could also be defined as
an institutionalized response to social inequality. It is driven by normative ideas
and human behavior. Individual needs and problems are evolving, so policy must
evolve as well.
Social policy is not limited to government. Employers, markets, non-
governmental organizations, churches, and informal network play a role in
welfare provision. The state does not solely regulate and implement social policy.
The government is more than just the nation-state, governments exist at
national, federal, regional, and local levels. Social policies differ based on
whoever regulates or creates it. Some governments simply legislate, while others
oversee the entire process.
The Dutch government sets out and finances policies, but they are administered
by local governments. In recent years, the state’s role in social policy is shrinking.
Trade unions, private organizations and families are playing larger roles.
Who provides policy and how, impacts our sense of solidarity. Solidarity is formed
if the distribution of resources is fair. The more fragmented policy is, the less
solidarity is formed.
Solidarity and social justice are necessary but contested elements in social
policies aimed at combatting social inequalities in contemporary societies.
Solidarity: unity based on a community of interests, objectives or standards. A
mutual attachment between individuals, what we expect of each other.
Social justice: who is deserving of what and how this could be achieved. It is
the (fair) distribution of wealth and privilege.
Contested concepts: whenever there is disagreement about how to define a
concept.
Motives that extend beyond the self, self-transcending motives, such as
justice values and feelings of solidarity can be contrasted with self-enhancing or
egoistic motives.
Social dilemmas are situations in which short-term self-interests conflict with
longer-term societal interests. Individuals are better off if they do not act
cooperatively, but everybody is better off if everyone cooperates. There are three
kinds of social dilemmas:
, 1) Resource dilemmas: dilemmas in which a course of action that offers
positive outcomes for the self leads to negative outcomes for the collective.
2) Public goods dilemmas: dilemmas in which an action that results in
negative consequences for the self would, if performed by enough people, lead to
positive consequences for the collective.
3) Prisoner’s dilemmas: dilemmas in which two players simultaneously face a
choice between cooperating and defecting. The best outcome for a player is the
one where they defect and the other cooperates. The worst outcome is where
they cooperate and the other defects.
- Week 2 -
Durkheim argues that, in the past, before the division of labor, people were more
homogenous in their values and identities which lead to more mechanical
solidarity. This led to less conflict and more social cohesion. Now, the more
different people have become, the more dependent they have become on each
other – this led to organic solidarity.
Social facts: a thing originating in the institutions or culture of a society which
affects the behavior or attitudes of an individual member of that society. It is
rooted in individuals, but not the same as individuals.
Individualism attaches us to ourselves, rather than society. Durkheim called it a
religion. We are bound together by our reliance on each other. The division of
labor and specialization allows us to create things bigger than the sum of its
parts. Crime is a normal and functional thing in society. Laws are reaffirmed
through crime. Density in social networks and competition is increased.
Interdependence comes from density and interactivity. Anomy and class conflict
are corrected by society. Durkheim focuses on solidarity, not so much on conflict
– despite living through World War I.
Forms of solidarity:
-Human solidarity: kinship within families is functional, but also normative.
Human solidarity is a moral imperative.
-Social solidarity: integrated aspects that holds a society together. It is a social
approach to solidarity. We are dependent on each other. There is a relational
aspect to solidarity. Interdependence ensures social cohesion.
-Political solidarity: we stand up for each other, it is more active. Not just
shared interest but standing up for shared interests creates solidarity.
-Civic solidarity: welfare state solidarity, the redistribution of resources. It’s
about obligations embodied in the government.
The distinction between the subjects (actors) and objects (resources) of solidarity
isn’t always clear. Usually only one is mentioned. The types of solidarity are also
not mutually exclusive, nor are people excluded from within the type of
solidarity.
Exclusionary in-group solidarity is exclusive to people that share an identity.
Inclusionary out-group solidarity is inclusive to other identities.
Humans have a fundamental need to affiliate with others in order to thrive. Some
social identities are visible, and some are chosen. They can be contrasted with
individual identities. They also create in- and out-groups. The social world is
