Philanthropy or solidarity? Ethical dilemmas about humanitarianism in crisis-afflicted Greece

Abstract

That philanthropy perpetuates the conditions that cause inequality is an old argument shared by thinkers such as Karl Marx, Oscar Wilde and Slavoj Žižek. I recorded variations of the same argument in local conversations regarding growing humanitarian concern in austerity-ridden Greece. Local critiques of the efficacy of humanitarianism, which I explore here ethnographically, bring to the fore two parallel possibilities engendered by the 'humanitarian face' of solidarity initiatives: first, their empowering potential (where solidarity initiatives enhance local social awareness), and second, the de-politicisation of the crisis (a liability that stems from the effectiveness of humanitarianism in ameliorating only temporarily the superficial consequences of the crisis). These two possibilities - which I treat as simultaneous and interrelated - can help us appreciate the complexity and social embeddedness of humanitarian solidarity in times of austerity.