‘They Should have been Looking after People for a Long Time’: Human Giving and Generosity During COVID-19, in Austerity Britain

Liz McDonnell, Amy Clarke and Alison Phipps
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Liz McDonnell: University of Sussex, UK
Amy Clarke: University of Brighton, UK
Alison Phipps: Newcastle University, UK

Sociological Research Online, 2025, vol. 30, issue 1, 43-58

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic mobilised a multitude of acts of giving and generosity. This article provides a snapshot of giving and generosity among a small sample of individuals in the UK, in a context following years of ungenerous austerity politics. Giving and generous actions played a crucial role in mitigating the negative effects of COVID and we report on data collected using in-depth interviews to understand experiences of giving and generosity. We conceptualise giving and generosity as pro-social or other-focused actions that involve sharing of resources, underpinned by a crossing of the hyphen between self and other. This article explores the ways in which participants were mobilised by perceived social and political injustices and thus we offer a different understanding of giving and generosity as micro-activism that is done with a critical eye turned towards the macro context.

Keywords: austerity; COVID-19; generosity; giving; pro-social (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socres:v:30:y:2025:i:1:p:43-58

DOI: 10.1177/13607804241235715

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