The moral economy of solidarity: a study of the 2017 hunger-strike in Mauritius

This article engages a moral economy (ME) approach with mobilisation theory (MT), using Sayer’s concept of lay morality to examine how solidarity was articulated and developed during a hunger strike. It argues that subjective moral evaluations and the historical context influenced solidarity and the outcomes of the strike. To explore this, a theoretical engagement between ME and MT found that solidarity was based on strong moral evaluations by workers and union leaders within a historically informed moral economy. The article confirms the analytical value of theoretically engaging ME and MT to provide a more fertile ground for understanding solidarity.