ABSTRACT
This chapter concentrates on the experiences and practices of acting volunteers from a pragmatist perspective. Samples collecting statements of volunteers show that volunteers very often state that volunteering makes them happy. While in economic theory the search for happiness is the way to realise the common good (reduced to economic wealth) behind the back of the economic subjects, these concepts are not mutually exclusive ones in the mind of volunteers. Using the pragmatist approach, the chapter methodologically focuses on actions in specific (problematic) situations of volunteering. As Daniela Neumann points out, volunteering has become a core issue in societal and political discourse in Germany since the 1980s and has led to the emergence of the new policy field of volunteering policy. By using the example of voluntary action, the chapter shows how these theoretical considerations apply in practice and what conclusions to draw for societal institutions that aim to improve happiness and the common good through volunteer work.
