The Forms of Socialization Within Associations of Local Social Services: The “Conviviality” in Question

Abstract

This article questions the political potential of associations of local social services, starting from an analysis of the forms of socialization, following the meaning given to this category by Simmel, Mead, and their posterity in Goffman’s sociology. It is based on an ethnography carried out in three local associations of the Belgian Red Cross. It shows the obstacles to “conviviality” and to the emergence of politics in these associations.