What Does Solidarity Mean
We explain what solidarity is and why this human value is so important. Examples of solidarity and famous phrases.
What is solidarity?
Solidarity is one of the traditional human values , related to compassion and generosity, and it has to do with the encouragement to cooperate and provide support to a person in need in their greatest moment of vulnerability , especially if this implies making one side the personal needs, opinions or prejudices .
The help provided in a moment of solidarity, thus, is considered disinterested, that is, it does not expect a remuneration or a profit in exchange for the service rendered. It is supposed to constitute a degree of altruism or detachment , putting the needs of others above your own momentarily. That is why it is common to appreciate it in critical or catastrophic situations, such as wars , natural disasters or simply troubled times in someone's life.
In the same way, solidarity is not usually seen as an obligation or a mandate , but must be voluntary. There is, however, a moral commitment to those who have the resources to help others overcome a critical situation, and our culture does not look favorably on those who simply refuse to do so.
Finally, solidarity is a requirement in the construction of deep affective relationships such as love or friendship , since they generate gratitude and even a commitment to reciprocity in those who receive selfless help. It is a value widely promoted as a remedy for the evils of individualism and selfishness within the functioning of the world.
It can serve you: Coexistence
Examples of solidarity
Solidarity can be clearly seen in cases such as the following:
- The collection of clothing, imperishable food and other vital supplies to assist a population victim of a natural catastrophe , or displaced for military or economic reasons.
- The investment fund helps impoverished sectors of the population, such as free kitchens, organizations of education popular, etc.
- Pension funds, in which a young generation pays for the retired generation, and then when it is old it receives in turn the payment of the young to come.
- During World War II , in the heat of anti-Semitic rage, many Germans risked their lives and those of their families to help Jews escape extermination.
- The families poor who share with a neighbor worse the little food they have.
Phrases about solidarity
Some phrases that summarize the spirit of solidarity are:
- "One by one we are mortal, together instead we will be eternal" - Apuleyo.
- "Solidarity is the tenderness of the peoples" - Gioconda Belli.
- "There is no good that delights us if we do not share it" - Seneca.
- "He who gives great service receives great reward" - Elbert Hubbard.
- “Great opportunities to help others are rare, but small ones surround us every day” - Sally Koch.
- "Carrying out is the work when many share the fatigue" - Homer.
- "You have fewer needs the more others feel" - Doris Lessing.
- "You have to come together, not to be together, but to achieve something together" - Juan Donoso Cortés.
What is cooperation?
The word cooperation comes from the prefix co- (which means set , between several) and operation, which already gives a sense of its meaning: an operation carried out between several .
Cooperation is understood as the joint work of two or more individuals to achieve a goal or end that benefits them both, although not necessarily to the same extent. Someone willing to cooperate, for example, is someone who willingly undertakes the causes of others, and who invests part of their effort in them, but also enjoys part of the rewards.
The line that separates cooperation from solidarity is very blurred, however, since someone who cooperates can also do it out of solidarity , without claiming any of the results obtained. However, cooperation does not necessarily lead to noble or altruistic ends: an aid worker can be an individual who helps a dictatorial government or a government of foreign occupation to better control their own country; a figure very close to the traitor.
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