Cite as: Papataxiarchis, E. (2016), "Unwrapping solidarity? Society reborn in austerity". Social Anthropology, 24: 205–210. doi: 10.1111/1469-8676.12309.
Solidarity: Another Greek paradox?
Solidarity is an emblematic analytical category of one of the most powerful traditions of social thought, one that treats society as a given. In Durkheim's theory it is wrapped up in a programme that marginalised the subject and denied agency. Yet Durkheimian solidarity contrasts with the highly agential meaning of the term ‘solidarity’ (allilegyi), even the programmatic character of its use, in the current Greek context. As the contributions in this special section show, when ‘social cohesion’ is under threat in conditions of austerity, solidarity becomes a project, an ‘alternative horizon’ aimed at combating alienation and atomisation. We have to take account of this paradox that puts into question the very status of solidarity as an analytical tool and invites us to consider the multiple meanings of the concept in different contexts...