Where does the concept of social exclusion originate, and how does it differ from other concepts such as poverty? What is the purpose of endeavouring to eradicate it, and what are the principal strategies intended to address it? This paper from the International Labour Organisation attempts to answer these and other questions. It outlines how the concept of social exclusion emerged, examines manifestations of exclusion and strategies for tackling it and concludes with tasks and challenges for the future.
The concept of social exclusion originated in the economic crisis of the 1970s, and the associated socio-economic changes in . The term has been influential, both in European policy and increasingly in other continents. It can be described as the accumulation of confluent processes with successive ruptures arising from the heart of the economy, politics and society. Social exclusion gradually places persons, groups communities and territories in a position of inferiority in relation to centres of power. Social exclusion complements an understanding of poverty, and is now an accepted term.
The term social exclusion is relatively new, so it is important to examine its manifestations and how it can be identified, measured and used as an operational tool.
- Exclusion is difficult to identify due to its relativity: Everyone is excluded from someone or something, and there are many different forms of exclusion. Focussing on the institutional aspects of the definition can be merely a rhetorical exercise, due to the variety of institutions across countries.
- Exclusion is a process with different stages, and it is important to look at the roots of the phenomenon, as well as the influence of macro social, economic and political context. It frequently has a cumulative and pluri-dimensional character.
- Many institutions define social life, and have conventions of inclusion and exclusion. The higher the number of institutions practising selection, the higher the level of exclusion. Exclusion also has symbolic and spatial dimensions.
- Indicators measure specific dimensions, and so there is no single way to describe or measure exclusion. It is reasonable to combine a range of methods, adapted to the strategies and objectives being pursued.
The paper provides typologies of different strategies used to tackle social exclusion, followed by a number of useful strategic approaches, and challenges for the future.
- Strategies and social attitudes: Strategies depend on the attitudes that society adopts towards exclusion. There is often a desire to deny its existence, to attribute it to individual behaviour or to explain it in purely economic terms.
- Strategies may also be classified by their objectives: They can be labelled as reproductive, palliative and curative, preventive, and emancipatory.
- They may also be classified by the methodological approaches they employ. There should be coherence between objectives and available resources. Financial resources are important but not conclusive, and strategies rooted in a plurality of actors have more advantages.
- Though there is no universal strategy for tackling exclusion, it is possible to identify approaches that give positive results. Integration, partnership, participation and a spatial approach are the bases of most programmes of the European Union and international organisations.
- The North should recognise that its opulence has its origin in the dominance of others, whose exclusion is partly rooted in processes originating in the North. Decisions should be taken to meet the most urgent needs in the South, and there should be a participatory dynamic in which persons affected can organise to address their needs and claim their rights.
