The concept of solidarity is based on the inclination to help others when they need it. In this way, if a neighbor's house burns down, the rest of the neighbors can decide to act in solidarity with the affected person by offering him what he may need to initially rebuild his life. In this case, we would speak of aid or solidarity directed towards a specific individual. However, if the aid offered is oriented in a global and not individual sense, we are talking about social solidarity.
In general terms, the idea of solidarity is opposed to selfishness and individualism. An action is solidary when it contemplates the needs of others and at the same time partially renounces personal benefit and interest.
Different examples of social solidarity
Let's imagine a small town with a high standard of living that decides to actively collaborate with another population that encounters a series of basic problems (lack of food, child malnutrition and marginalization in general). If the rich town decides to raise money by making a concert so that the proceeds go to the poor town, we are faced with a case of social solidarity.
The solidarity actions focused on society are very diverse. In this sense, the different NGOs carry out aid projects in areas such as education, health, agriculture or the integration of people with disabilities. It should not be forgotten that most churches also promote actions that aim to help those most in need. The idea of the state also implies a series of solidarity mechanisms in society itself (for example, economic aid for the unemployed).
The principle of solidarity in helping the most disadvantaged
Somehow we all know that the world we live in is interdependent. This means that we all depend on everyone in some sense. At the same time, we could divide the world's population into two large blocks: those that have their basic needs covered and those that do not. Faced with this unequal reality, every individual, group or nation can consider what to do. There are two options: ignore or try to alleviate the needs of others. The second position implies a moral commitment to others and an idea of brotherhood among all human beings.
In conclusion, any help or collaboration to reduce the suffering of others is based on a moral feeling or convictions that are the origin of the principle of individual or social solidarity. Solidarity understood as a social mechanism is based on the idea that we are not simply a group of individuals but that we all form a social body and what happens to a part of a body affects its totality.
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