Fraternità, solidarietà, amicizia civile

Justice requires a form of ‘fraternity’ (Rawls), ‘solidarity’ (Marxists) or ‘civic friendship’ (Aristotle), among the central justifications being to place limits on socio-econo- mic inequalities that can undermine just political institutions. Fraternity has been associated with the community of ‘male citizens’, however, and often usurped by a totalitarian fringe. Less noted, however, is that notions of solidarity have also been modelled on historically male forms of activity: on marching, demonstrating, fighting at the barricades (military activity) or labor strikes (economic production). The significance of the notion of civic friendship today is its grounding in a third model of ethical action or praxis: in all those activities that further the reproduction of flourishing relations for their own sake (here called friendship) whether personal or civic. Once this alternative model is developed – and its practices thoroughly adapted to modern principles of universal right and respect for personhood – the ideal of civic friendship may just be the most appropriate notion of community for today’ s democratic and pluralist society.