The 3 Causes of Social Exclusion (explained)

A summary of the main causes of social exclusion and how they affect people.

Throughout history many people have been set apart from the rest, experiencing some form of social exclusion. This phenomenon is defined as the absence of participation and opportunities for groups of individuals within a society.

The causes behind social exclusion are varied, as it is a multidimensional phenomenon. A person can be socially excluded due to economic, labor, cultural and political factors, among others.

Here we will look at what are the main causes of social exclusionWe will also understand the origins of this concept and the importance it has acquired in Western societies.

What do we understand by social exclusion?

Social exclusion can be defined as the absence of participation and opportunities for individuals within the daily and basic dynamics of the society in which they live..

It is often represented by the rejection of individuals with traits different from those socially accepted, who are deprived of fundamental rights and hindered from fully developing in society.

Social exclusion occurs mainly in developing countries, but can also be observed in developed societies.. Whatever the case, it manifests itself in the form of inequality, marginalization, discrimination, poverty and vulnerability of certain sectors of the population. These situations are usually related to aspects such as economic status, gender, race, religion, disability, sexual identity, migratory status, etc.

Although the conceptualization of the term "social exclusion" is very recent, this does not mean that it has not been experienced for a long time. In fact, social exclusion has been a constant throughout human history and has been present in all civilizations.

Social exclusion is a collective phenomenon, in the sense that it applies to a group of people who share one or more characteristics not well regarded by the majority of society. It is also multifaceted and multidimensional, and it is it often involves the use of social labels, usually in a pejorative way, as a way of differentiation and stigmatization.as a means of differentiation and stigma to determine inequality in relations between individuals or social groups.

The causes behind this phenomenon are very varied and, although we will explain them in more detail below, we can advance that they have to do mainly with economic, social and political aspects. The extensive list of causes behind social exclusion would be almost infinite, as it is a very complex phenomenon that can occur in multiple ways.

History of the concept of social exclusion

In the Western world, at least in Europe, governments try to reduce social exclusion as much as possible. Democratic and developed countries enact laws with the intention of ending social exclusion by integrating the population and implementing measures to promote equal rights and opportunities. In principle, by ensuring that everyone has their fundamental rights respected and is fully integrated into the society in which they live, social exclusion will disappear.

The idea of exclusion as we understand it appeared after the end of World War II, although it gained particular prominence during the 1980s thanks to French politician Jacques Delors. French politician Jacques Delors. At that time, this term acquired great importance in Western European countries, especially among the members of the European Economic Community (EEC), the forerunner of today's European Union. This institution presented a resolution entitled "Combating social exclusion", this document being the first official appearance of the term.

Although the term is widely used in Western European legislation, other societies, such as the United States and Asian countries, have not been as interested in combating social exclusion. Its reception has not been particularly strong in African countries and, although there is some intention to combat it, it cannot be said that Latin America has made much progress in its eradication.

It so happens that in countries where the idea of social exclusion is not so well known, the term poverty is used to refer to this phenomenon.. Although poverty and social exclusion are related, they are not synonymous terms since poverty refers more to deprivation of wealth and economic hardship while social exclusion implies a much more multifaceted, multidimensional and multicomponent problem.

The 3 types of causes of social exclusion

As we were saying, the causes behind social exclusion are many, however, they can be grouped into three main types: economic, social and political.

Economic causes

One of the main reasons why a person may be socially excluded is money. Not having sufficient purchasing power is one of the most important factors in generating social gaps. Lack of money, wherever we are, translates into difficulties in leading a full life.

For many, economic poverty is synonymous with social exclusion, which is why some countries' legislation continues to confuse the two terms. Although poverty and social exclusion are closely related, it should be noted that economic poverty is only one of the causes that lead to exclusion, since, as we have already mentioned, social exclusion is a multidimensional phenomenon..

In the list of economic causes behind social exclusion we can find:

• Lack of income
• Unstable employment
• Unemployment
• Salary too small to save
• Debts
• Excessive taxes
• Job insecurity
• Dependent families

2. Socio-cultural causes

The social and cultural causes behind social exclusion are many, and in most cases depend on how society is configured. Among them we find personal traits, i.e, characteristics of individuals that, because they are not perceived as socially acceptable by the society in which they live, force them to be isolated from the rest of the individuals. from the rest of the individuals. That is to say, they are the cause of discrimination and social exclusion itself, finding:

• Sexual orientation
• Sex and gender
• Race and ethnicity
• Nationality and cultural identity
• Mother tongue
• Religion

It is important to mention that one of the causes behind social exclusion is the lack of a support network, which is very common among migrants.. This phenomenon is the fact of not having family or friends from whom to receive help if needed. For example, migrant single mothers often face this problem, as they are too far away from their relatives to receive help from them and are forced to find their own way to reconcile family and work life on their own.

Another cause of social exclusion is the "voluntary" self-exclusion of the individual. Some people withdraw from the rest of society on their own, something that can be explained in many ways depending on the individual's own personal history. In some cases it is due to a mental disorder that makes it difficult to interact with other people, such as social phobia or antisocial personality disorder.

Finally, among the causes of social exclusion related to social issues, we would have the individual's own behavioral problems.. Some people, despite not having a socially unaccepted trait, find it difficult to fit into society because they have disruptive behaviors or completely lack social skills, without having any mental disorder. This makes the rest of the members of their society not interested in sharing time with them.

3. Political causes

Finally we enter into the political causes, although these really blur a little with the socio-cultural and economic causes, because politics never departs from the cultural and economic. These could include any cause that leads to social exclusion and has to do with ideology, human rights and freedom of expression..

In Western countries it is rare for social exclusion to occur for political reasons, while it does occur frequently in countries with authoritarian regimes, where only one or a limited set of ideologies are considered admissible. It is therefore not uncommon to find that Latin American, Islamic, Asian and Slavic European countries have policies that promote isolation from the rest of the world. policies that promote the isolation of those who do not think the same way as those in power..

The lack of legally recognized rights is also a political cause of social exclusion. This has been a constant throughout history, discriminating against people on cultural as well as social and economic grounds. An example of lack of rights due to economic reasons can be found in the first liberal revolutions, in which census suffrage was implemented (for example, in the United States), recognizing the right to vote but only for those who had a certain income.

Another example of lack of rights, this time related to the cultural aspect, is the situation of many speakers of minority languages who do not have laws that encourage their use or recognize their right to speak them with the administration. This example can be found in languages such as Asturian, Aragonese or Occitan which, because they do not have full official status, their speakers do not have political recognition to receive education in these languages or to address the bureaucracy in these languages.