What is it about?
This is an innovative new history of famine relief and humanitarianism. The authors apply a moral economy approach to shed new light on the forces and ideas that motivated and shaped humanitarian aid during the Great Irish Famine, the famine of 1921-1922 in Soviet Russia and the Ukraine, and the 1980s Ethiopian famine. They place these episodes within a distinctive periodisation of humanitarianism which emphasises the correlations with politico-economic regimes: the time of elitist laissez-faire liberalism in the nineteenth century as one of ad hoc humanitarianism; that of Taylorism and mass society from c.1900-1970 as one of organised humanitarianism; and the blend of individualised post-material lifestyles and neoliberal public management since 1970 as one of expressive humanitarianism. The book as a whole shifts the focus of the history of humanitarianism from the imperatives of crisis management to the pragmatic mechanisms of fundraising, relief efforts on the ground, and finance. This book is available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
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Why is it important?
Our book examines how transnational relief was provided during three great famines: the Irish Famine in the 1840s, the Russian Famine of 1921–2, and the famine in Ethiopia in the 1980s. We draw on a wide range of sources, some of which have never been analysed before. The reaction to these catastrophes exemplifies how humanitarianism has developed over time. We suggest a new periodisation that, unlike earlier attempts, emphasises the predominant economic and cultural contexts. In Ireland we identify ad hoc humanitarianism with the elitist laissez-faire liberalism of the nineteenth century. For Russia we find the organised humanitarianism between 1900 and 1970 bearing similarities to Taylorism and the mass society of the time. The expressive humanitarianism that typified aid to Ethiopia we see as a blend of the individualised post-material lifestyles and neo-liberal public management that has shaped the past half-century. In our approach, the principal question regarding humanitarian efforts is shifted from the conventional geopolitical ‘what?’ to a moral economic ‘how?’, thus moving the focus from directives of crisis management imposed by the outside world to realistic choices made by aid organisations on the ground.
Perspectives
We were about to publish our book, Humanitarianism in the Modern World: The Moral Economy of Famine Relief, when Covid-19 lifted ‘crisis’ and ‘response’ off the page and into our own lives. The academic term ‘triage’ that refers to the rationale of medical prioritisation, suddenly became ubiquitous in the mainstream press. Doctors, hospitals, and ethics committees worldwide had to confront the question of whose life to save as they faced the prospect of running out of ventilators. Should they treat the first through the door? the most vulnerable? or those with the best prospects of recovery? Should medical staff be granted preferential treatment? What about saving the young or pregnant women? As typical in humanitarian disasters, needs quickly exceeded supplies and an economy of provision began to determine selection practices. The dilemma of triage is at the heart of our theory of moral economy as well. Humanitarians must make three crucial choices: which causes to support with their fundraising appeals, what way to best allocate relief on the ground, and how to account for their actions.
Professor Norbert Götz
Södertörn University
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This page is a summary of: Humanitarianism in the Modern World, July 2020, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1017/9781108655903.
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