Hangel Nora, Schönweitz Franziska, McLennan Stuart, Fiske Amelia, Zimmermann Bettina M, Buyx Alena
Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
SSM Qual Res Health. 2022 Dec;2:100051. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100051. Epub 2022 Feb 4.
Politicians, policymakers, and mass media alike have emphasized the importance of solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic, calling for the need of social cohesion in society to protect risk groups and national healthcare systems. In this study, which is part of an international Consortium, we analyzed 77 qualitative interviews with members of the general public in Germany and German-speaking areas of Switzerland on solidaristic behavior and its limits during the first COVID-19 related lockdown in April 2020. We found interdependencies between the interpersonal, group, and state tiers of solidarity that offer insights into what promotes solidaristic practice and what does not. We argue that because solidarity does not have a necessary and sufficient normative value in itself, those wanting to promote solidarity need to consider these interdependencies to effectively implement policy measures. Our study shows that inter-societal solidarity was based on individual voluntary agency and promoted through recognizing a shared goal, shared values, or other communalities including group effort. It also shows that individuals held state authorities accountable for the same values and expect inter-societal reciprocity from the contractual level. Tensions between those complying or willing to follow recommendations voluntarily and those perceived as not promoting the shared goal, posed challenges for solidarity. Another challenge for solidaristic behavior was when acting in solidarity with others was in direct conflict with the needs of close ones. Our study provides a clearer picture of promoting and limiting factors concerning solidarity which is relevant when communicating health policy measures to individuals and groups.
政治家、政策制定者和大众媒体都强调了在新冠疫情期间团结的重要性，呼吁社会需要凝聚力量以保护弱势群体和国家医疗体系。在这项作为国际联盟一部分的研究中，我们分析了对德国及瑞士德语区普通民众进行的77次定性访谈，内容涉及2020年4月首次与新冠疫情相关的封锁期间的团结行为及其局限性。我们发现了团结在人际、群体和国家层面之间的相互依存关系，这些关系有助于深入了解哪些因素促进了团结行为，哪些因素则不然。我们认为，由于团结本身并没有必要且充分的规范价值，那些想要促进团结的人需要考虑这些相互依存关系，以便有效地实施政策措施。我们的研究表明，社会间的团结基于个人的自愿行为，并通过认可共同目标、共同价值观或包括集体努力在内的其他共性得以促进。研究还表明，个人要求国家当局秉持相同的价值观，并期望在契约层面实现社会间的互惠。那些自愿遵守或愿意听从建议的人与那些被认为没有促进共同目标的人之间的紧张关系，给团结带来了挑战。团结行为的另一个挑战是，与他人团结行动与亲近之人的需求直接冲突时的情况。我们的研究更清晰地呈现了团结的促进因素和限制因素，这在向个人和群体传达卫生政策措施时具有相关性。
