The “Ethos of Compassion” in Contemporary Social Intervention: The Janus Faces of Humanitarian Action Proposals

Abstract

In this communication we aim to discuss the social and political implications of an “ethos of compassion” that tends to emerge and to substantiate some of the current social and public action concerning social suffering. In fact, by considering mainly a moral of compassion as a political determinant element for the response to actual social suffering it is emphasized a linear conception of the human being which has implications with regard to its affirmation and recognition as a political agent. In this perspective the social and political categorization as a victim, combined with a mediatized focus in a sort of moral social responsibility nourished by the necessary distance between those that suffer and those that “observe” the suffering of others, are the main analytical axes of our reflection