La Raison humanitaire: Une histoire morale du temps présent

by Didier Fassin

Face aux désordres du monde, les sentiments moraux sont devenus un ressort essentiel des politiques, internationales aussi bien que locales. Qu''il s''agisse de conduire des actions en faveur des pauvres ou des réfugiés, d''aider des victimes de catastrophes ou de justifier des interventions militaires, un gouvernement humanitaire, mêlant solidarité et compassion, se déploie partout au secours des démunis et des dominés.   C''est à l''analyse de cette nouvelle économie morale que Didier Fassin, anthropologue et médecin, consacre ce livre.   Sur des terrains proches ou lointains, il explore des scènes où la morale humanitaire se trouve soumise à l''épreuve de l''inégalité et de la violence, et rend compte des tensions et des contradictions qui traversent la politique humanitaire. Analysant en France l''ouverture de lieux d''écoute dans les banlieues, la distribution d''aides d''urgence aux chômeurs, la régularisation des étrangers en situation irrégulière et le traitement des demandes d''asile, mais étudiant aussi les représentations de l''enfance au temps du sida en Afrique du Sud, les témoignages sur les traumatismes dans les Territoires palestiniens, les opérations de sauvetage de sinistrés au Venezuela et les choix difficiles de l''aide internationale lors de l''invasion de l''Irak, Didier Fassin livre les fragments d''une histoire au présent de la manière dont les sociétés contemporaines font face à l''intolérable.   Proposant une critique de la raison humanitaire à la fois respectueuse de l''engagement des acteurs et lucide sur les enjeux qui les dépassent, il jette ainsi les bases d''une anthropologie politique et morale.   « Hautes Études » est une collection des Éditions de l''École des hautes études en sciences sociales, des Éditions Gallimard et des Éditions du Seuil.

Genres: Anthropology, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Sociology, Ethnography, Politics, Social Science

368 pages, Paperback

First published October 7, 2010

About the author

Didier Fassin is a French anthropologist and sociologist. He is currently the James D. Wolfensohn Professor of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and holds a Direction of Studies in Political and Moral Anthropology at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris.

Reviews

[Tobi ﾄﾋﾞ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those rare volumes that manages to be both academically rigorous and politically relevant to things the world is still greatly struggling to conceive today. It peels back the layers of what we think we know about health systems, showing how structural inequality, market forces, and state governance interact in ways that often undermine the very populations they claim to protect.

The book is organised as a series of case studies, each offering a different angle on the politics of health. Two chapters stood out to me in particular, beyond the introduction with explained the key methods, approaches and philosophies very clearly.

Chapter 3, “The Compassion Protocol”, an intriguing examination of how the French state grants healthcare access to undocumented migrants only under highly specific, life-threatening conditions. Fassin reveals the moral economy at work here: the state positions itself as benevolent while tightly controlling who is deemed ‘worthy’ of care. It’s a chilling reminder that humanitarianism often masks the structural causes of scarcity, turning healthcare from a right into a conditional privilege.
And Chapter 5 while very different in subject matter, exposes another “hidden in plain sight” policy dynamic. It addresses how bureaucratic and regulatory frameworks can inadvertently reproduce inequality, even in systems ostensibly committed to equity. What makes it so compelling is that the problems it identifies are not the result of malice or incompetence, but of the underlying logics baked into institutional processes. These are logics that prioritise efficiency, market viability, or political expedience over actual health outcomes.

The strength of this book is how it forces you to reconsider the seemingly neutral language of policy. The case studies are rich in ethnographic detail, but they also serve as frameworks for thinking about other contexts entirely, whether that’s pharmaceutical shortages, HIV/AIDS programmes in the Global South, or debates over rationing in public healthcare.

Overall, this is a book that will stay with me. It’s ideal for students and scholars in anthropology, development studies, public health, or policy analysis, but it’s also accessible enough for readers outside academia who are curious about why health systems fail and who they fail first.

[Jee Koh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb, fine-grained analysis of the insufficiency of humanitarian reason in case studies taken from France and around the world. It opened my eyes to the powers of anthropology.

[Leif · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a lot going on here. In Humanitarian Reason, Fassin's interests lie in distinguishing the recent (post World War II ish) shift in moral emphasis from diverse types of governance and toward a specifically humanitarian governance that is motivated by humanitarian reason. In this new paradigm of reason and policy, suffering is meant to be displayed and demonstrated for expert evaluation, for example, whereas previously suffering would be public but not sufficient cause in itself for action. Thus Fassin looks at programs for distributing aid to the poor or to immigration and asylum tribunals to discern how this happens in France, but also toward Venezuela and Palestine, for instance, to determine how states of exception and humanitarian aid use the same mode of reasoning abroad.

Much is quite worthwhile and Fassin's concern with the microelements of governmental power and the human faces left in the shadows of political operations creates a compelling and quite moving narrative history. Empirical certainty punctuates his work and theoretical sophistical propels it; meanwhile, Fassin never becomes polemical or uncompromising in his tone – even as he reaches stark and really quite critical conclusions that are, I think, necessary to contemplate. Humanitarian reason's central position in policy and state action motivates a hierarchical chain of dynamic relationships of power. If this is of interest, read the book! :)

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

How did we get to this specific moral economy around humanitarian work? Why do we speak of suffering and compassion rather than justice and rights? What does this obscure or reveal?

At times excellent, at others I felt adrift in the sheer volume of detail that, perhaps lacking familiarity ethnographic methods, I struggled to connect in any meaningful way to his conclusions. I would say 4 stars for the theory, which I found fascinating and thought provoking, 3 for the rest.

[DM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book, particularly the conclusion which is a reflection on the purposes of social critique. However, argument that situates humanitarian reasoning in Christian genealogy needed more fleshing out, because although he mentions Islam and Buddhist approaches he seems to erase them.

[Aivaras Žukauskas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5.

Would have been good to have a bit more exploration of the concepts proposed in the texts in this work (despite the author's assertion that concepts are not everything). Nevertheless, a very important work on an often overlooked theme, which should be reflected upon today as well.

[Boo (Harriet) Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit disjointed and I struggled to follow the middle chapters but a fairly accessible read and an essential critique of the humanitarian field

[Rachel Tallon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A colleague of mine in development suggested I read this book and it is a fantastic read. Engaging and thought-provoking throughout, Fassin looks directly at moral dilemmas faced today, particularly by international relief agencies. Part of this dilemma comes down to the value of a human life: not everyone is equal. Vast resources are spent on some individuals whilst others are forgotten without a second’s thought. For an academic text that delves into the ethics of development this was un-put-downable. Fassin brings his own nuanced experience of the sector to the discussion. The translation from the French is excellent.

[Bookshark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a rigorous and interesting anthropological work on humanitarianism and contemporary discourses on suffering and compassion. Fassin effectively combines theoretical analysis with strong ethnographic research and even the occasional statistic. The book lacks a clear normative or policy take-away point, but that's by design; Fassin aims to show the ambiguity of humanitarian reason. I think it's pretty accessible for a scholarly book, but as an academic, I have a high tolerance for academese. Overall, a good book that's worth reading if the topic appeals to you.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really well-structured development of contemporary moral economies at work in social/humanitarian work and social welfare. I enjoyed many of the case studies (particularly France's Social Emergency Fund, and the Sangatte center/camp) that focused on moral trade-offs that arise in pursuing competing priorities, both at the administrative and decision-making levels

[Sovatha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three reasons for humanitarianism: response to a crisis, short term goals, and compassionate desire to help other human beings.