Introduction: The Problem of Meaning

This chapter introduces the reader to the topic of the book. In it, the relevance of research into solidarity is presented, as well as the systemic neglect of the term by both philosophy and political science. The introduction provides the background for the rationale behind the book, i.e. the question about the actual meaning(s) applied to solidarity by people when speaking about it. In particular, it focuses on what the political parties mean when they use the term. Furthermore, the novelty of the methodological approach—Wittgenstein-inspired reconstruction of the meaning from the use of the concept in the language—and the reasons for not going with the established approaches (e.g. Skinner’s (1969: 3) or Koselleck’s (1979)) are discussed. The reader will also find here the research questions and an overview of the book, as well as short description of the data and the method, rationale behind picking Germany as a case study and party programmes as data source, and the broader scientific context of the study.