Literature Summary
Solidarity and social justice in contemporary societies
(201900020)
Literature Summary Solidarity and social justice in contemporary societies ............................ 1
Chapter 1: Why solidarity and social justice still matter today .............................................. 2
Inequalities unmasked: Reality of disparities across the EU ................................................. 4
Chapter 4: Social justice and de justification of social inequalities I ..................................... 7
A theory of justice: chapter 1 Justice as fairness.................................................................. 11
Chapter 2: Who we are and who we choose to help (or not): an introduction to social
identity theory....................................................................................................................... 17
Chapter 4: Social justice and de justification of social inequalities II ................................. 23
Integrating who ‘we’ are with what ‘we’ (will not) stand for: a further extension of the
social identity model of collective action ............................................................................. 25
Chapter 3: Understanding solidarity in society: triggers and barriers for in- and outgroup
solidarity ............................................................................................................................... 36
Chapter 6: Who should get what and why? Insights from welfare deservingness theory.... 44
Differentiated distributive justice preferences? Configurations of preferences for equality,
equity and need in three welfare domains ............................................................................ 50
Knowledge Clips ...................................................................................................................... 58
Week 1 .................................................................................................................................. 59
Week 2 .................................................................................................................................. 61
Week 3 .................................................................................................................................. 64
Week 4 .................................................................................................................................. 67
, Chapter 1: Why solidarity and social justice still matter today
Introduction
This chapter discusses three concepts: solidarity, social justice and social inequality.
Additional key concepts such as the welfare state, social policy, social dilemmas and
self-transcending values will also be introduced.
Key concepts in the book
Social inequality
= The uneven allocation of burdens and valued resources across members of a society
based on their group membership, in combination with the undervaluation of these
members of society based on this same group membership.
→ Whereas some groups are unfairly disadvantaged, others enjoy privilege.
→ Societies continue to face persistent structural inequalities arising from differences
across race, ethnicity, class, gender and more.
Welfare states
= A nation state providing government- protected minimum standards of income,
nutrition, health, housing, and education, guaranteed in the form of citizenship rights.
→ The rights of social groups are articulated and protected by modern welfare states
A crucial part of the ways in which welfare states attempt to identify and address social
inequalities and social risks that have societal problems are social policies.
= The services, facilities, and broader support of social groups through which welfare
states attempt to identify and address social inequalities and social risks.
→ Can be provided by, financed and/or regulated by the welfare state and other actors
like NGOs or trade unions.
Social inequalities, and the related social policy responses, can generally be viewed as
social dilemmas
= Situations in which short-term self-interests conflict with longer-term societal
interests. Individuals are better off if they do not act cooperatively, but everybody is
better off if everyone cooperates compared to the situation in which no one cooperates.
If no one cooperates, everyone will be worse off in the end.
→ To sustain the welfare state, citizens need to be able to look past their individualistic
tendencies.
→ Examples:
- Prisoner’s dilemma
= Social dilemma in which (usually) two players simultaneously face a choice
between cooperating with each other or defecting, where the best outcome for
Player A is the one where they defect and the other cooperates, while the worst
outcome is where they cooperate and the other defects.
- Public goods dilemma
= Social dilemmas in which an action that results in negative consequences for
, the self would, if performed by enough people, lead to positive consequences for
the collective.
- Resource dilemma (tragedy of the commons)
= Social dilemmas in which a course of action that offers positive outcomes for
the self leads to negative outcomes for the collective
→ Motives of solidarity and social justice are essential for acting on these more long-
term societal interests.
People can move past their self-interested behavioural tendencies by adopting self-
transcending motives
= Motives that extend beyond the self, such as justice values and feelings of solidarity
(can be contrasted with self-enhancing or egoistic motives)
→ The fact that we care about justice and sometimes behave in a solidaristic manner
shows these self-transcending motives do indeed exist. Moreover, studies find that
people not only dislike being undercompensated, but they also dislike being
overcompensated.
Solidarity is one example of a self-transcending motive
= Common identity, suggesting a mutual attachment between individuals in society,
both practically (depending on each other) and normatively (what we expect of each
other)
→ But it is more complex: solidarity has encompassed the idea of shared interests and
community. Solidarity not only relates to common identity but can also cross group
boundaries. And so, the meaning of solidarity is subject to change; as societies evolve,
so too do our understandings of solidarity.
If solidarity is about having a common identity and a willingness to share resources,
even across group boundaries, social justice provides the rules through which people
can do so
= Considerations of the questions on who is deserving of what and how this is to be
achieved. Usually, a distinction is made between distributive (distribution of burdens
and benefits across members of a society) and procedural justice (just procedures
leading up to these distributive outcomes), but more forms can be distinguished, such
as the scope of justice and justice as recognition.
→ The concept of social justice is also contested and central to many societal and
political debates.
, Inequalities unmasked: Reality of disparities across the EU
McCaughey, 2024
Inequalities have become more apparent in many areas: between men and women;
between rich and poor; between young and old; and between rural and urban areas.
What are the implications of these inequalities across the EU?
Gender inequalities persist
Despite significant progress, there is still a gender pay gap and gender employment gap,
and so gender inequalities are still very much alive and well. Also, women continue to be
significantly overrepresented in low-paying jobs. The good news is that female
employment has been growing faster than male employment in the highest-paying jobs,
but this is where the gender pay gap is greatest. At managerial level women earn 23%
less an hour than men in these jobs.
This is a common pattern in the EU, notwithstanding younger women increasingly
outperforming younger men in educational attainment. Also, variable forms of pay
(shares in the company or payments based on company performance) are increasing
more rapidly among men than women. This trend could further widen the gender pay
gap.
Also, the working conditions and job quality that women and mean experience across
countries, sectors and occupations vary greatly:
- Men report higher levels of quantitative demands at work, while women are more
likely to report exposure to emotional demands or find themselves in emotionally
disturbing situations.
- Women are underrepresented as managers in almost all economic sectors
- Women work fewer paid hours than men and adjust their working time to the
needs of their families
- Women experience more conflicts between working and private life than men:
they worry more about work, feel more exhausted and have a bigger burden of
housework to face
- When paid and unpaid work are combined, women do eight full-time weeks more
work per year than men
Income inequality
The gap between rich and poor is increasing in older EU member states and decreasing
in newer EU member states. Also, the share of people below the poverty income
threshold increased across most EU member states. Furthermore, single parent
households are more at risk of energy poverty, and women living alone are more likely to
be negatively affected by energy poverty outcomes.
The 13 new member states that joined the EU after 2004 have experienced convergence
and income growth. In many cases, this has been stronger among lower-income
earners, thereby reducing income inequalities.
Solidarity and social justice in contemporary societies
(201900020)
Literature Summary Solidarity and social justice in contemporary societies ............................ 1
Chapter 1: Why solidarity and social justice still matter today .............................................. 2
Inequalities unmasked: Reality of disparities across the EU ................................................. 4
Chapter 4: Social justice and de justification of social inequalities I ..................................... 7
A theory of justice: chapter 1 Justice as fairness.................................................................. 11
Chapter 2: Who we are and who we choose to help (or not): an introduction to social
identity theory....................................................................................................................... 17
Chapter 4: Social justice and de justification of social inequalities II ................................. 23
Integrating who ‘we’ are with what ‘we’ (will not) stand for: a further extension of the
social identity model of collective action ............................................................................. 25
Chapter 3: Understanding solidarity in society: triggers and barriers for in- and outgroup
solidarity ............................................................................................................................... 36
Chapter 6: Who should get what and why? Insights from welfare deservingness theory.... 44
Differentiated distributive justice preferences? Configurations of preferences for equality,
equity and need in three welfare domains ............................................................................ 50
Knowledge Clips ...................................................................................................................... 58
Week 1 .................................................................................................................................. 59
Week 2 .................................................................................................................................. 61
Week 3 .................................................................................................................................. 64
Week 4 .................................................................................................................................. 67
, Chapter 1: Why solidarity and social justice still matter today
Introduction
This chapter discusses three concepts: solidarity, social justice and social inequality.
Additional key concepts such as the welfare state, social policy, social dilemmas and
self-transcending values will also be introduced.
Key concepts in the book
Social inequality
= The uneven allocation of burdens and valued resources across members of a society
based on their group membership, in combination with the undervaluation of these
members of society based on this same group membership.
→ Whereas some groups are unfairly disadvantaged, others enjoy privilege.
→ Societies continue to face persistent structural inequalities arising from differences
across race, ethnicity, class, gender and more.
Welfare states
= A nation state providing government- protected minimum standards of income,
nutrition, health, housing, and education, guaranteed in the form of citizenship rights.
→ The rights of social groups are articulated and protected by modern welfare states
A crucial part of the ways in which welfare states attempt to identify and address social
inequalities and social risks that have societal problems are social policies.
= The services, facilities, and broader support of social groups through which welfare
states attempt to identify and address social inequalities and social risks.
→ Can be provided by, financed and/or regulated by the welfare state and other actors
like NGOs or trade unions.
Social inequalities, and the related social policy responses, can generally be viewed as
social dilemmas
= Situations in which short-term self-interests conflict with longer-term societal
interests. Individuals are better off if they do not act cooperatively, but everybody is
better off if everyone cooperates compared to the situation in which no one cooperates.
If no one cooperates, everyone will be worse off in the end.
→ To sustain the welfare state, citizens need to be able to look past their individualistic
tendencies.
→ Examples:
- Prisoner’s dilemma
= Social dilemma in which (usually) two players simultaneously face a choice
between cooperating with each other or defecting, where the best outcome for
Player A is the one where they defect and the other cooperates, while the worst
outcome is where they cooperate and the other defects.
- Public goods dilemma
= Social dilemmas in which an action that results in negative consequences for
, the self would, if performed by enough people, lead to positive consequences for
the collective.
- Resource dilemma (tragedy of the commons)
= Social dilemmas in which a course of action that offers positive outcomes for
the self leads to negative outcomes for the collective
→ Motives of solidarity and social justice are essential for acting on these more long-
term societal interests.
People can move past their self-interested behavioural tendencies by adopting self-
transcending motives
= Motives that extend beyond the self, such as justice values and feelings of solidarity
(can be contrasted with self-enhancing or egoistic motives)
→ The fact that we care about justice and sometimes behave in a solidaristic manner
shows these self-transcending motives do indeed exist. Moreover, studies find that
people not only dislike being undercompensated, but they also dislike being
overcompensated.
Solidarity is one example of a self-transcending motive
= Common identity, suggesting a mutual attachment between individuals in society,
both practically (depending on each other) and normatively (what we expect of each
other)
→ But it is more complex: solidarity has encompassed the idea of shared interests and
community. Solidarity not only relates to common identity but can also cross group
boundaries. And so, the meaning of solidarity is subject to change; as societies evolve,
so too do our understandings of solidarity.
If solidarity is about having a common identity and a willingness to share resources,
even across group boundaries, social justice provides the rules through which people
can do so
= Considerations of the questions on who is deserving of what and how this is to be
achieved. Usually, a distinction is made between distributive (distribution of burdens
and benefits across members of a society) and procedural justice (just procedures
leading up to these distributive outcomes), but more forms can be distinguished, such
as the scope of justice and justice as recognition.
→ The concept of social justice is also contested and central to many societal and
political debates.
, Inequalities unmasked: Reality of disparities across the EU
McCaughey, 2024
Inequalities have become more apparent in many areas: between men and women;
between rich and poor; between young and old; and between rural and urban areas.
What are the implications of these inequalities across the EU?
Gender inequalities persist
Despite significant progress, there is still a gender pay gap and gender employment gap,
and so gender inequalities are still very much alive and well. Also, women continue to be
significantly overrepresented in low-paying jobs. The good news is that female
employment has been growing faster than male employment in the highest-paying jobs,
but this is where the gender pay gap is greatest. At managerial level women earn 23%
less an hour than men in these jobs.
This is a common pattern in the EU, notwithstanding younger women increasingly
outperforming younger men in educational attainment. Also, variable forms of pay
(shares in the company or payments based on company performance) are increasing
more rapidly among men than women. This trend could further widen the gender pay
gap.
Also, the working conditions and job quality that women and mean experience across
countries, sectors and occupations vary greatly:
- Men report higher levels of quantitative demands at work, while women are more
likely to report exposure to emotional demands or find themselves in emotionally
disturbing situations.
- Women are underrepresented as managers in almost all economic sectors
- Women work fewer paid hours than men and adjust their working time to the
needs of their families
- Women experience more conflicts between working and private life than men:
they worry more about work, feel more exhausted and have a bigger burden of
housework to face
- When paid and unpaid work are combined, women do eight full-time weeks more
work per year than men
Income inequality
The gap between rich and poor is increasing in older EU member states and decreasing
in newer EU member states. Also, the share of people below the poverty income
threshold increased across most EU member states. Furthermore, single parent
households are more at risk of energy poverty, and women living alone are more likely to
be negatively affected by energy poverty outcomes.
The 13 new member states that joined the EU after 2004 have experienced convergence
and income growth. In many cases, this has been stronger among lower-income
earners, thereby reducing income inequalities.
