 Compassion and Conflicting Solidarities 
This article examines compassion as a concern for others as it arises when it is associated with a problem of distributive injustice, whether it is poverty or socio-economic inequality. From this perspective, it is sometimes argued that economic and social inequalities or injustices increase because we do not care enough about others, either because we do not care enough about the place of others in the production system or because we are indifferent to the inadequacy of the means put in place to compensate for known injustices. This would mean, conversely, that in order to be able to put an end to these injustices, compassion should be strengthened and awakened more. The aim would then be to encourage the members of a given society to feel more responsible for one another and in particular for the most disadvantaged, either in a spirit of charity or through greater support for the practices, institutions and policies of the welfare state. However, this approach seems to overlook another possibility : we could be witnessing a change in the general economy of solidarity that has a direct impact on the way in which concern for others is expressed and on the way we perceive our obligations in terms of private and public solidarity. If this hypothesis is valid, it may offer keys to interpreting the evolution of the welfare state and public redistribution systems.