[New Entry by Andrea Sangiovanni and Juri Viehoff on March 25, 2023.]
The term “solidarity” first becomes prevalent in the early- to late-nineteenth century in France. Since then, it has always been used to describe a special relationship of unity and mutual indebtedness within a group. The term’s origins lie in French legal usage, in which the Roman legal concept of an obligation in solidum – a joint contractual obligation in which each signatory declared himself liable for the debts of all together – long had a place in the French code civile…

Originally appeared on Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Read More