Ethik und Gesellschaft

Image: Bild: Christian Lue, Marburg via unsplash.com

Solidarity is back – on the streets, in social salons, political speeches, and theoretical debates. After decades of dominance by the neoliberal paradigm of privatization and radical modernization, the renaissance of the concept of solidarity comes as a surprise to some and is merely logical to others. Still others diagnose increased pressure to act independently out of solidarity with an overwhelmed society—and thus a new variant of neoliberalism. In particular, the diagnosis of a entrenched situation of multiple, overlapping crises makes the recourse to solidarity seem plausible at first glance. Whether it is the coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine and its (global) economic and political consequences, the ecological catastrophe, the precarious situation of refugees and migrants, or the emergence of new polarizing issues: Solidarity seems to be an eternal fountain of youth when it comes to addressing a common (emergency) situation and mobilizing the power of cohesion and thus also the willingness of individuals to overcome it.However, it is striking that solidarity does not simply return in its classic forms as a motive force of the labor movement and as a social principle realized in welfare state institutions.

Contemporary debates on solidarity emphasize its controversial, contested, and ambivalent character: How far does solidarity extend in view of the ongoing destruction of the planet's natural resources? Who does it include and who does it exclude under the influence of continuing colonial and patriarchal relations? Who is expected to make what efforts to show solidarity—and to whose advantage? Who has access to solidarity institutions, should support them, and benefits from them? To what extent are acts of solidarity accompanied by acts of disengagement, and are these inevitable processes? Contrary to an apparent intuitive plausibility in social contexts, the concept of solidarity today needs to be shaped in a way that also addresses forms and structures of solidarity other than those that are familiar.

It therefore makes sense to focus primarily on the relationship between practices and institutions of solidarity, proceeding with particular sensitivity to contexts, inclusions/exclusions, and social (power) relations. A present-day applicable understanding of solidarity can only be developed through a variety of perspectives and contexts and in relation to other key concepts and basic categories. The discussion draws on a long tradition of engagement with the theme of solidarity in political theology and Christian social ethics. Against the backdrop of the current crises, this tradition must be continued, updated, and even readjusted. This issue aims to contribute to this endeavor.

Editorial Team: Michelle Becka, Bernhard Emunds, Josef M. Könning, Walter Lesch

The review section focuses on perspectives of theological peace ethics against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. However, it also addresses theological criticism of racism in the US (Niebuhr), the question of God in a world of violence, and, last but not least, the dangers of a lack of resistance from the Church and Christianity “against the far right.”

Another focus is on the self-image of contemporary sociology of work, the question of property rights in nature, old and new definitions of ‘prosperity’, and the importance of children's rights in the coronavirus pandemic.

There are also reviews of new books by Judith Butler, Onur Erdur, Rahel Jaeggi and Daniel Loick. Finally, there are reviews of an anthology on the late work of Jürgen Habermas and a doctoral thesis that examines whether it is possible to ‘change the world’ with Hannah Arendt and Theodor W. Adorno.

Editorial Team: Tim Eckes and Hermann-Josef Große Kracht