The Virtue of Solidarity

Many today are worried about the global spread of divisive politics, rampant inequality, social alienation, and political apathy. They are hungry for meaningful action that will bring about change, yet they are uncertain of how to achieve this. It is often repeated that people must come together, in displays of solidarity, but fundamental questions about this political catchword–what solidarity is, when (or if) it is a virtue, and its potential dangers–have not received the attention they deserve. They have certainly received less attention than solidarity's closest relatives: liberty and equality.

The Virtue of Solidarity brings together twelve world-leading philosophers to reflect on the nature, history, and virtue of solidarity. Topics discussed include race, class, Catholic understandings of solidarity, and the social theories of Émile Durkheim, Léon Bourgeois, and Jürgen Habermas as they relate to present disputes of solidarity. These essays present and debate solidarity's many forms and roles–as a virtue, a sacrifice, an egalitarian commitment, or even something pernicious–where it belongs within a just society, and its relationship to justice. The Virtue of Solidarity is a comprehensive volume of the most recent thinking regarding this topic, ranging from the philosophical to the sociological, the religious to the political, presenting solidarity's many justifications and exploring the most urgent questions that surround it.