Abstract
In this chapter, we introduce an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the contested nature of solidarity and social justice. We first define central concepts of the book: social inequality, solidarity, and social justice, and consider the fundamental question of where self-transcending motives come from. Subsequently, we outline this edited volume, focusing on: providing the theoretical foundation needed to study social inequality, solidarity and social justice from an interdisciplinary perspective (sociological, psychological, and political philosophical; (Section II)); and highlighting empirically concrete cases along fault lines visible in society today, including gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status (Section III). Lastly, we outline Section IV: solidarity and social justice in relation to three contemporary global societal challenges: migration, sustainability, and the digitalization of public services.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 267–299). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60108-2
Bayertz, K. (1999). Solidarity (K. Bayertz, Ed.). Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Black, L. L., & Stone, D. (2005). Expanding the definition of privilege: The concept of social privilege. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 33, 243–255. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1912.2005.tb00020.x
Clayton, S., & Opotow, S. (2003). Justice and identity: Changing perspectives on what is fair. Personality and social psychology review, 7, 298–310. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0704_03
Dean, H. (2019). Social Policy (3rd ed.). Polity Press.
Droogendyk, L., Wright, S. C., Lubensky, M., & Louis, W. R. (2016). Acting in solidarity: Cross-group contact between disadvantaged group members and advantaged group allies. Journal of Social Issues, 72(2), 315–334. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12168
Fraser, N. (1998). Social justice in the age of identity politics: Redistribution, recognition, and participation. The Tanner Lectures on Human Values, 19, 1–67.
Lind, E. A., & Tyler, T. R. (1988). The social psychology of procedural justice. Springer.
Marshall, T. H. (1950). Citizenship and social class, and other essays. Cambridge University Press.
Van den Bos, K., Lind, E. A., Vermunt, R., & Wilke, H. A. M. (1997). How do I judge my outcome when I do not know the outcome of others? The psychology of the fair process effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 1034–1046. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.72.5.1034
Van der Veen, R., Yerkes, M. A., & Achterberg, P. (2011). The transformation of solidarity. Changing risks and the future of the welfare state. In Changing welfare states. Amsterdam University Press.
Van Lange, P. A., Joireman, J., Parks, C. D., & Van Dijk, E. (2013). The psychology of social dilemmas: A review. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 120(2), 125–141.
Wilensky, H. L. (1975). The welfare state and equality; structural and ideological roots of public expenditures. University of California Press.
Yerkes, M. A., Nelson, K., & Nieuwenhuis, R. (2022). Changing European Societie. The role for social policy research (K. Nelson, R. Nieuwenhuis, & M. A.Yerkes, Eds.). Edward Elgar.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Yerkes, M.A., Bal, M. (2022). Why Solidarity and Social Justice Still Matter Today. In: Yerkes, M.A., Bal, M. (eds) Solidarity and Social Justice in Contemporary Societies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93795-9_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93795-9_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-93794-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-93795-9
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)