Moral Paradigms of Intergenerational Solidarity in the Coronavirus-Pandemic-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Moral Paradigms of Intergenerational Solidarity in the Coronavirus-Pandemic

Published:2024-05-01 Issue:1 Volume:46 Page:85-119
ISSN:0171-5860
Container-title:Analyse & Kritik
language:en
Short-container-title:

Author:

Ellerich-Groppe Niklas¹,Steckdaub-Muller Irmgard²,Pfaller Larissa³,Schweda Mark¹

Affiliation:

1. Department for Health Services Research, Division of Ethics in Medicine , Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg , Ammerländer Heerstraße 114-118, 26129 Oldenburg , Germany

2. Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute of Sociology , Bismarckstraße 6, 91054 Erlangen , Germany

3. Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute of Sociology , Kochstraße 4, 91054 Erlangen , Germany

Abstract

Abstract Solidarity between generations served as a prominent but controversially discussed normative reference point in public debates about the Coronavirus-pandemic. The aim of this contribution is the empirical reconstruction and ethical evaluation of prominent notions of intergenerational solidarity and their underlying assumptions in the public media discourse on the pandemic in Germany. After a brief introduction to the concept of intergenerational solidarity and the pertinent discourses during the pandemic, we present the results of a comprehensive qualitative content analysis of 149 articles from leading media in Germany. On this basis, we carve out three typical understandings of intergenerational solidarity: (a) communal care, (b) mutual support, and (c) responsible use of freedom. We discuss these understandings and the underlying ‘moral paradigms’ and evaluate their theoretical and practical implications from an ethical point of view, drawing conclusions for discourses on future societal crises.

Publisher

Walter de Gruyter GmbH

Link

https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/auk-2024-2010/pdf

Reference92 articles.

1. Allen, Laura D., Idalina Z. Odziemczyk, Jolanta Perek-Białas, and Liat Ayalon. 2021. “We Should Be at the Back of the Line: A Frame Analysis of Old Age within the Distribution Order of the COVID-19 Vaccine.” The Gerontologist 61 (8): 1317–25. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnab094.

2. Amann, Julia, Joanna Sleigh, and Effy Vayena. 2021. “Digital Contact-Tracing during the Covid-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of Newspaper Coverage in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.” PLoS One 16 (2): e0246524. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246524.

3. Ayalon, Liat, Alison Chasteen, Manfred Diehl, Becca R. Levy, Shevaun D. Neupert, Klaus Rothermund, Clemens Tesch-Römer, et al.. 2021. “Aging in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Avoiding Ageism and Fostering Intergenerational Solidarity.” The Journals of Gerontology: Series B 76 (2): e49–e52. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa051.

4. Bacsu, Juanita-Dawne R., Melissa K. Andrew, Mehrnoosh Azizi, Corinne Berger, Allison Cammer, Alison L. Chasteen, Sarah Anne Fraser, et al.. 2023. “Using Twitter to Understand COVID-19 Vaccine-Related Ageism during the Pandemic.” The Gerontologist 64 (2): gnad061. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnad061.

5. BAGSO (Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Seniorenorganisationen). 2020. Protecting Human Life – Strengthening Cohesion. BAGSO Recommendations in Times of the Spread of the Coronavirus. https://www.bagso.de/fileadmin/user_upload/bagso/06_Veroeffentlichungen/2020/Statement_Protecting_human_life.pdf (accessed July 31, 2023).