The 9 Types Of Social Exclusion, And How They Affect Citizens
Throughout history, even today, many sectors of the population have experienced some type of social exclusion.
Let’s analyze this concept, defining it, explaining the different types of social exclusion that can occur and investigating the causes that generate it.
Social exclusion consists of difficulty or impossibility of a sector of a given population in accessing or participating in any or all of the activities of said society due to a lack of resources, capabilities or directly of rights, due to a certain condition, which can be of a very varied nature depending on the moment in history and society.
Throughout the history of humanity, social exclusion (without being known by that term, since it is of modern origin), has been a constant in all civilizations, to a greater or lesser extent, and the causes that have motivated it have been very varied: class difference, economic reasons, diseases, issues of honor, race, religion, skin color sex, sexual orientation…
There are as many causes as one can imagine, because at the end of the day it has been used as a measure of control and submission between those who held the power of society and those who did not, and these types of mechanisms have been linked to our history. since the world is world.
Recent history
Obviously The tendency, at least in Western society, which is the one we live in, is to reduce this problem until it is eliminated and that is why modern nations constantly enact laws that ensure the integration of the entire population, equality of rights and opportunities, so that social exclusion ultimately disappears.
The modern concept appears in our society after the Second World War, and slowly gains strength until the 1980s when it becomes a legislative priority in Western European countries.
In France, a minimum vital income is created (a measure that has also been recently taken in Spain) with the aim of ensuring that no citizen is left behind due to lack of economic resources.
In the European Economic Community, precursor of the European Union, a resolution called Combating social exclusion is presented, first official appearance of this term. And, at the end of the 90s, the United Kingdom government created the Social Exclusion Unit.
Despite the importance that this term has gained in Europe (although not even in all countries), in other societies such as the United States or Asia it has not managed to take root. Its reception has not been very strong in African or Latin American countries either.
And in all these places the term poverty continues to be used to refer to all this problem. Even within the European Union itself there are sectors that prefer to continue using the concept of poverty and the indicators related to it
In fact, in 2020 the European Platform against Poverty was created, partly renouncing the term social exclusion, which had been coined and defended here for decades. Even the British program mentioned above was gradually diluted until it disappeared.
Types of social exclusion
The typology surrounding the phenomenon of social exclusion is quite broad It would be included in three main types, which in turn would be subdivided. Let’s get to know them in depth.
1. Economic exclusion
Obviously one of the main causes that generate a gap in society is money, or rather, the lack of it. This, in turn, It may be caused by a series of different factors that would be generating this type of social exclusion
1.1 Shortage of income
One of the most frequent problems today is job insecurity, and if it is already difficult to find a job, Many times the available options imply conditions that do not comply with the legislation forcing them to work hours that do not appear in the contract (if it exists, since in many cases it is not even done at a legal level and therefore social contributions and coverage do not exist.
Of course, in most of these cases the salaries are unworthy, so, Despite dedicating a huge number of hours to work, the remuneration barely covers basic needs of the person’s life.
1.2 Unstable employment
Another factor that can trigger social exclusion is job instability. Just as difficult as finding a job can be keeping it over time. And, due to the very difficult circumstances of the current market, The most common thing is to offer temporary contracts that are chained but they hardly end up becoming a permanent contract.
Furthermore, many times these contracts are not even intended to cover a full day (at least on paper), so it would join the previous factor and they would not even be generating a sufficient salary.
1.3 Lack of employment
Of course, the difficulty in finding a job can last over time and The person can go months and even years without receiving compensation, often with families in charge with economic obligations (rent, mortgage…) and with debts that increase more and more, which sometimes make recovery and reintegration insurmountable.
1.4 Impossibility of having resources
Although the welfare state guarantees a series of coverage for citizens in case of need, such as unemployment benefit, minimum insertion income or minimum vital income in many cases you cannot access them because you do not meet the conditions, because you have exhausted the maximum enjoyment periods or for other reasons.
This lack of support can deepen the bad situation that the citizen is going through and make it chronic. making their economic recovery difficult and potentially leading to social exclusion
2. Social exclusion
Exclusion can also come from purely social factors, from those that make us interact with other people in the environment and the difficulties that may arise for this to occur.
2.1 Lack of support network
Not everyone has the protective factors that family and friendship networks provide when it comes to feeling protected in case of need, whether on a specific basis or as a necessity.
A very common example is that of single mothers, who have problems reconciling their family and work life, especially if they are far from their place of origin and therefore do not have anyone they know who can take care of them. the little ones while she works.
In some societies there is also a lack of support from social services themselves as these resources have very limited resources or do not exist at all, which would be another cause that would facilitate social exclusion.
Due to different circumstances, it may be the person themselves who decides to give up their life in society, avoiding any type of relationship with their peers and living in isolation in all areas of their life
Some psychological pathologies such as social phobia or antisocial personality disorder can explain this type of behavior in some cases.
2.3 Behavioral difficulties
Sometimes the person does not renounce life in society, but has serious difficulties behaving in a socially accepted way either due to a lack of social skills or due to disorders that can generate inappropriate behavior, such as alcoholism and other addictions.
It can also occur due to cultural causes, in cases where the individual has been raised under beliefs, moral standards and laws that are difficult to fit in or directly incompatible with those of another society, in which he or she now finds himself.
3. Political exclusion
Although it is not frequent in our society and in our days, we can find other places in which exclusion comes due to a lack of political rights.
3.1 Lack of rights
Throughout history, the rights of all citizens have been equalized so that their vote at the polls counts exactly regardless of their sex, race, sexual orientation, skin color, etc. In the societies of developed countries everyone has the same rights and the same obligations
But this is not the case everywhere. In many countries, today, certain groups continue to be discriminated against and therefore excluded, often minorities but on other occasions directly half of the population, due to sex, to give an example. The lack of political rights would, therefore, be a very powerful means of social exclusion.
3.2 Lack of representativeness
Finally we may encounter a problem in political representativeness. It may be the case that we meet a group of people who share a common characteristic, and whose needs are not reflected in political programs of the parties, or at least not in those who govern.
