相互扶助

• 読み: そうごふじょ
• ローマ字: sōgo fujo
• 漢字の分解: 相 (sō/ai) — mutual, together; 互 (go/taga) — reciprocal, each other; 扶 (fu/tasu) — to support, prop up; 助 (jo/tasu) — to help, assist
• 発音: /soː.ɡo.ɸɯ.dʑo/

意味

Mutual aid; mutual assistance; helping one another. The principle of members of a community supporting each other reciprocally.

A foundational concept in social theory, cooperative movements, and welfare policy. In Japan, 相互扶助 underpins the cooperative (協同組合) system, neighbourhood associations (町内会), and labour unions. The concept is also central to anarchist mutual aid theory and appears in disaster relief contexts. Contrasted with state welfare (公助) and self-reliance (自助).

例文

1. 地域コミュニティにおける相互扶助の精神が防災に役立っている。
2. 相互扶助を理念とする協同組合は世界中に存在する。
3. 自助だけでは限界があるため、相互扶助の仕組みが必要だ。

使い方ガイド

場面: social policy, community, cooperatives, welfare

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

Compound of 相互 (mutual, reciprocal) and 扶助 (assistance, aid). 扶 means to support or prop up; 助 means to help. The four-character compound (四字熟語) reflects Sino-Japanese vocabulary used in formal ethical and political discourse.

文化的背景

時代: Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Universal