Abstract
The past four decades have witnessed a shift away from the heart of the moral action of solidarity toward what I call ‘ironic solidarity,’ which is defined by self-centered and consumptive relationships toward vulnerable others. This chapter traces this transformation, by focusing upon three historic trends during this period: the instrumentalization of humanitarianism; the de-politicization of solidarity; and the technologization of communication. The first is driven by a preoccupation with fund-raising instead of moral argument; the second trend moves the justification of humanitarian action away from justice and toward minor rewards for the donor; and the third trend re-purposes technology in pursuit of self-expression. To set a new course, the chapter advocates an imperative to care for vulnerable others that listens to the voice of these others and addresses the question of values – of ‘why’ it is important to care. A new ethics of solidarity would start by acting upon the shared value of justice as a minimum common pursuit of what it means to be human. Such a course would inevitably improve the frequency and quality of attempts to alleviate human suffering.
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Notes
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http://sofii.org/case-study/medicos-sin-fronteras-medicine-for-someone-elses-pain.
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Chouliaraki, L. (2017). Suffering and the Ethics of Solidarity. In: Anderson, R. (eds) Alleviating World Suffering. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 67. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51391-1_3
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