The 3 types of solidarity (explained and with examples)

A summary of the main types of solidarity in society.

Solidarity is a concept that can be understood from different perspectives. At first glance, one might think that it is an essential value that all human beings share from their nature. This can be seen through the support to others that is given through words and deeds.

On the other hand, solidarity can imply empathy with those who are similar to the group to which the subject belongs, but at the same time it can imply going beyond differences, connecting with people of different ethnicity, social class, or nationality, among other characteristics.

The following is an exploration of the history of this concept and we will see what the different types of solidarity are. different types of solidarity that we can observe in everyday life.

What is solidarity?

The concept of solidarity begins to develop from the legal field in moral and social philosophy. Several philosophers worked around this concept, such as Cicero, Aristotle, the Stoics, the scholastic tradition, Rosseau, the English school of sympathy ethics, among others.

Solidarity has a fundamental origin related to the lawwith the concept in solidumwhich means the legal obligation of a relationship where all debtors must respond for the debt or commitment they have acquired. From this concept, the nature of solidarity begins to become clear, where all are responsible for the individual, and where the individual is responsible for all. It could be thought then that solidarity expresses two things at the same time: the union and bonding between people and the individual reciprocal responsibility for each one and for the whole.

The concept of solidarity was also studied by the author Peter Kropotkin, who argued that solidarity arises in the context of cooperation in societies, which is fundamental for the survival of any society and species. For this author, solidarity is a fundamental component of mutual aid. For the author, solidarity is not something that arises from a desire for retribution but from an instinctive desire to help other people.

However, one of the main influencers of the development of this concept was David Émile Durkheimwho allows us to understand that solidarity is ambiguous in two senses: on the one hand, it is a social fact, while on the other hand it can be conceived as an ideological aspiration.

This concept of solidarity goes beyond the traditional notion of the concept as something that is demonstrated through actions and words, being also something that is necessary to maintain society and that can be reflected in actions and moments in which one would think that solidarity itself does not exist, for example, in robberies, murders, or acts of corruption. These actions and moments make it possible to make visible the true principles that generate cohesion within society and for which we want to work.

The most important types of solidarity

Durkheim's development of the concept of solidarity allows us to understand several types of solidarity that will be explored below.

Mechanical solidarity

This type of solidarity could be classified as evolutionarily earlier.. The fact that it usually develops is based on identification with others.

It usually occurs in the midst of small communities that share close characteristics, such as ethnicity, religion, social class, or culture.

It can be considered as a very old type of solidarity even though it can still be found in the context of modern communities, being the basis for solidarity within the family or in contexts shared by several people. This type of solidarity is more related to the classification of solidarity as a fact.

An example of this concept is found in farming communities.where there are no major differences between people and the same social fabric is configured on the basis of affinity. In this type of societies there would not exist the possibility for marginalization, and in case it existed it would be minimal.

2. Organic solidarity

This type of solidarity is visible in cooperation and is posterior to the social division of labor.. This concept is related to the arrangement of various organs that act for the overall functioning of a system. This type of solidarity is more related to the ideological dimension of the concept, because social integration and cooperation between different people in the midst of differences after having overcome differences functions as a moral ideal.

An example of this type of solidarity can be found in the middle of the societies in which people have specialized in a particular way in specific tasks that are performed and that contribute to each other's well-being.For example, people may work as teachers, public servants, engineers, security guards, or health professionals within the same society, who mutually contribute to the welfare of others who may not share characteristics with each other but belong to the same society.

This kind of solidarity can be seen as characteristic of societies where the community-creating social media characteristic of the mechanical society have been superseded.

3. social solidarity

This type of solidarity could be considered to be derived from the notion of solidarity developed by Kropotkin in relation to the natural tendency of the human being to help other people instinctively and without the pursuit of any other type of interest..

This can be visible in the formation of religious and social communities whose main mission is focused on collaboration with other people who do not have similar characteristics, as in the case of the Mennonite community that has sought to mediate in the midst of different internal or international armed conflicts developed in the world.

Why is it socially important to promote solidarity among people?

From the various problems presented today in relation to racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and internal armed conflicts that various countries suffer, highlights the importance of the value of solidarity for today's society.

Solidarity becomes an element that is shown through actions that contribute to the welfare of people with whom similar characteristics are shared, but it also begins to be visible to the extent that it works for the welfare of people who do not necessarily share similar characteristics. but it also begins to be visible to the extent in which it works for the welfare of people who do not necessarily share characteristics with us, through actions that arise from our daily and professional work, as well as in actions that contribute to the welfare of people who share similar characteristics. with us through actions that arise from our daily and professional work, as well as on other occasions this solidarity emerges voluntarily towards people or situations in which it appears "innately".

The issue of solidarity acquires importance in contexts such as the current conflict in places like Afghanistan and the international reaction to it. This kind of situation makes it possible to think about Durkheim's ideas, who establishes that the critical situations that occur in societies make it possible to rescue the principles that govern them or to which they are ideally oriented, in this case, a principle of solidarity.

Solidarity can also be seen in the creation of social groups that seek the mutual protection of their members who have been affected by specific who have been affected by specific conditions in which the affectations have been similar for the subjects; for example, in the case of workers who have been affected by the same regimes in societies, or people who have experienced similar treatment as a result of their ethnicity, culture, or sexual orientation.

In these cases, solidarity functions as mutual support and a way of generating well-being among themselves in order to sustain themselves in hostile contexts, thus giving rise to the potential development of collectives and social movements.

The issue of solidarity also takes on importance in relation to bioethicsIn bioethics, solidarity not only extends to human beings but also begins to include animals and plants, reinforcing the importance of treatment based on the Kantian principle. This concept would also be extended to human beings, thus being one of the pillars of this field today. Some people who have worked on bioethics today point out its importance insofar as it allows us to focus on the human being as a person and his or her dignity, allows us to place ourselves in the position of the other person and in his or her suffering and own experience, highlighting the importance of connecting solidarity with the responsibility we have towards others.

Another important way in which solidarity could be identified and its importance highlighted today is in the context of the Covid pandemic, where it is necessary to develop various actions of solidarity, which can range from the development of personal practices of individual isolation to prevent the infection of people close to them, as well as it can also be manifested at a much more general level in the context of international collaboration to comply with the vaccination of the world population.