Since its beginnings, the sociology of collective action has drawn a distinction between forms of engagement and repertoires of action that relate with compassion and those that relate with political protest. This has led to distinguish between different (and often conflicting) motivations and trajectories: it is generally argued that individuals participate into social movements for different reasons and follow different careers than those active into charities.
This paper seeks to challenge the frontier between compassionate and politicized engagement from an empirical point of view. It is based on the empirical analysis of the trajectories and strategies of volunteers active in two charities against poverty in Leicester (UK). Through a series of in-depth interviews, it shows how the context of growing inequalities as well as the austerity measures lead these actors to create new – hybrid – forms of engagement in which compassionate action is mixed with more politicised strategies.
