Solidarity
(Note: This reflection paper was written in the fourth quarter of 2017 as part of an Integral Human Development course)
There is a “safety” that comes from living in a community because of the tangible and intangible benefits that members of the community and the community itself provide. As communities become larger, individuals gravitate towards one another based on shared goals, ambitions, and other characteristics. In these communities and groups, individuals share a common pool of resources, work as a team, assign roles and responsibilities towards increasing their chances of success in achieving set outcomes. This sense of ownership, shared value, and responsibility is defined as solidarity. This shared membership, characterized by mutual care and mutual respect(1), increases our ability to solve problems effectively, because we can leverage on individual and collective strengths and experiences.
Solidarity has foundations in the dignity of the human person, preferential option for the poor and the common good — dignity of the human person because every individual has intrinsic worth and should not be denied their rights and opportunities to participate in society; preferential option for the poor, which prioritizes assistance for the most vulnerable and marginalized members(2) of society, the common good, whose primary goal is the good of all people and of the whole person. Solidarity also works hand in hand with the principle of subsidiarity; as individuals render assistance either on a one-on-one basis or in groups to achieve goals within their collective means they allow higher authorities to focus on coordination and “bigger” issues.
Civic groups, nonprofit organizations, co-operatives, labor unions, and all intermediate groups have stronger bargaining powers and can represent their members’ interests and achieve goals that would not have been achieved by limited individual capacities. Nations also stand in solidarity through organizations such as the African Union, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the United Nations. These organizations provide avenues to collaborate, make decisions on matters of joint interests and provide resources to tackle problems –with the developed countries and their agencies providing the bulk of the funding required and ensuring a follow up and review process for accountability in the use of resources. Nations at various regional and global levels should give more recognition to the importance of Solidarity in maintaining an equitable and peaceful world. Also, nation states who receive assistance, should make judicious of these resources as an expression of their Solidarity and commitment to the interests of the group.
Without solidarity, separate entities place greater importance on vested interests and are unwilling to help ameliorate the present and/or potential suffering of others. As we act in Solidarity, we indicate our commitment to promoting prosperity, inclusiveness, equality,(3) justice, and peace. Nations that stand in solidarity are less predisposed to engage in warfare or other activities that can endanger their support system. Because ecosystem services can be mismanaged and finite resources can be depleted, solidarity requires of us as custodians of the earth to ensure that earth’s support system is well managed by consuming renewable sources of energy and ensure that the earth remains livable; that we give to our children a stock of resources not less than we inherited.
In conclusion, solidarity helps us to see the “other”-whether a person, people or nation-not just as an instrument, with a work capacity and physical strength to be exploited at low cost and then discarded when no longer useful, but as our “neighbor,” a “helper”, to be made a “sharer”, on a par with ourselves, in the banquet of life.(4) A popular Yoruba kindergarten song goes, “for as many as you can empower or render assistance to, the same is your neighbor, do not deprive them.” Kindergarten is the best time to begin inculcating the principles of solidarity as we decidedly move towards a world where anyone who sleeps on a full stomach while his neighbor goes hungry knows he is not one of the members of humanity.(5)
NOTES
1. Schweigert, F. J. Solidarity and Subsidiarity: Complementary Principles of Community Development. Journal of Social Philosophy, Vol 33 №1, Spring 2002. Blackwell Publishers Inc. page 33
2. Rev. Sirico, A. S. Solidarity: the fundamental social virtue. Religion & liberty: volume 11, Number 5. July 20, 2010
3. 55/2. United Nations Millennium Declaration http://www.un.org/millennium/declaration/ares552e.htm
4. Pope John Paul II. Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis of the Supreme Pontiff, John Paul II, to the Bishops, Priests, Religious Families, Sons and Daughters of the Church and All People of Good Will for the Twentieth Anniversity of Populorum Progressio. USCCB Publishing, 1988. (page 39)
5..https://abuaminaelias.com/dailyhadithonline/2012/08/12/hadith-on-neighbors-he-is-not-a-believer-whose-stomach-is-full-while-his-neighbor-is-hungry/ Sunan al-Kubrā 19049