Shifting Conceptions of Solidarity: From Immigration to the Pandemic

Abstract

In this paper, we examine how our notion of solidarity is utilized, according to the circumstances of our communities. Through an observation of how solidarity was called forth during the Covid-19 pandemic and an analysis of how the term is used in immigrant discourse, our research will show that the definition of the term solidarity changes and that throughout the history of philosophical thought it can be understood in various ways. However, we seem to treat it as if it is based on something concrete such as national belonging, shared history, same language, and the like. While this may be true, the wielding of the concept of solidarity is so much more complex and nebulous than the ideas, with which it was built upon.

In this paper, we present how solidarity was a buzzword during the pandemic, but there are several ways with which it can be interpreted both in words and in deeds. In migration studies, solidarity undergoes alterations because of shifting spaces, loyalties, and experiences. We will use the theoretical framework of Rahel Jaeggi in her work on this theme but we will peruse the works of other philosophers as well to show solidarity is an ethical concept, not just a political one. From Durkheim to Honneth, we will show novel ways with which we can have a deeper appreciation of the term. Jaeggi herself was influenced by Durkheim as she applies the idea of solidarity in the debate on welfarism and the healthcare system.  Examples of how Japan called for solidarity during the pandemic and how the Filipino concept of bayanihan is used when they move abroad grounds these discusssions.

Our usual notions of solidarity as a moral sentiment is founded on belongingness to a community is not as straightforward as we think. The phenomena of immigration and the pandemic has weakened this argument but there is a more expansive perspective which enriches the discourse on solidarity.