Corona and the neglected critical Potential of Political Solidarity

COVID-19 and its social and political consequences have led to increased attention to the sometimes philosophically neglected concept of solidarity. This paper reflects the discourse on solidarity in times of COVID-19 from the viewpoint of the philosophical debate on solidarity. We argue that currently - regarding this debate - the critical potential of solidarity as a political concept is often undermined. Solidarity should rather be used as a social-diagnostic lens to focus on and criticise problematic exclusions caused by current political developments. This applies especially to the cross-border and transnational dimension of political solidarity, which is often neglected in the national constrictions of political COVID-19 strategies. The paper concludes with observations on which levels and in which directions the reflection on solidarity could stimulate both the political and the philosophical debate on global crises such as COVID-19.

Solidarity in Crisis: For an understanding of political solidarity in times of Covid-19 following H. Arendt

In times of the Covid-19 pandemic, solidarity is one of the central normative concepts. Against the background of the current philosophical debate on solidarity, a heuristic along the distinction of a social-, political-philosophical and ethical perspective is proposed. Based on this heuristic, the current social discourse on solidarity in the pandemic will be reconstructed, analyzed and criticized. Solidarity, so the argument in this paper, is narrowed down to its social dimension. On the one hand, this leads to the mobilization of communities and the containment of the pandemic. On the other hand, however, it also leads to (national) closures and numerous exclusions. By establishing politics as an evidence-based technology, an increasing depoliticization is taking place, which often reproduces social inequality unquestioned, both locally and globally. In contrast, the article discusses solidarity in times of the pandemic based on an alternative understanding with reference to Arendt's concept of the political. This notion is based on social relativity and criticizes a mechanistic logic of the political. Following Arendt, plurality, critical thinking and new beginnings are emphasized as central elements of the political in times of crises. Thus, a political dimension is added to the concept of solidarity and proposes a productive approach to the current closures and exclusions in the Covid-19 pandemic. Finally, the crises of capitalism and liberalism, which were made more obvious by the pandemic, can be reflected upon and the political can be rethought as an open-discursive space beyond narrowly defined borders. © 2020 University of Salzburg. All rights reserved.