Sunday, March 21, 2010

Philosophy: Fraternity - Solidarity in modern Societies - Polities (EU, US, world)

Is a descent health coverage, irrespective of personal means and health history or risk, a concrete measure of solidarity - fraternity? In most European polities and societies, yes. In the US, with the House vote pending today on "Obamacare", the reply is not clear.

On the other hand the fraternity or solidarity that exists between the member polities of a federal state (eg USA or Germany) does not seem to exist in the European Union. Is that type of solidarity - fraternity a necessary condition of a European or other type of integration, in the form of federation, union, or even partnership?

Does it exist at world or near world level, eg UN or WTO membership? Is the world willing to show solidarity in dealing with global challenges such as global warming, diseases - maladies, threats from outer space (eg meteorites), nuclear safety, etc. In taxation and budgetary - public spending matters. In matters related to security (eg NATO), etc.

This is IMO one of the key philosophical (in the applied philosophy sense of the term philosophy), policy - political and social issues, conceptual and applied, of our era. With many applications, some of which I listed above.

With the quest for the right balance between individualism and collectivism being IMO a linked issue in Societies and Polities today.


 


 

Posted via web from nickpthinking

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