SOCIAL EXCLUSION / INCLUTION

SOCIAL EXCLUSION / INCLUTION

INTRODUCTION

Social exclusion is the term used to describe what happens when people or areas are excluded from essential services or every day aspects of life that most of us take for granted.

Socially excluded people or places can become trapped in a cycle of related problems such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poverty, poor housing, high crime, bad health and family breakdown. It is broader than poverty, it relates to being unable to participate fully in normal social activities, or to engage in political and civic life. This may be because of people themselves, or the areas where they live, experiencing high crime, poor housing, high unemployment, low incomes etc.

Social exclusion is often connected to a person's social class, educational status and living standards and how these might affect their access to various opportunities. It also applies to some degree to the disabled, to minority men and women of all races, and to the elderly. Anyone who deviates in any perceived way from the norm of a population can become subject to coarse or subtle
Social exclusion The picture on social exclusion is constantly changing as new economic, social and demographic changes take place.

As social exclusion so severely restricts access to the services and jobs needed for a minimal standard of living, there is a high correlation between poverty and social exclusion. Even when they are not the majority of the poor, the excluded typically constitute the poorest. These telling trends make clear that poverty reduction will not be successful without also addressing the complex determinants of social exclusion.

SOCIAL EXCLUSION IN DIFFERENT MODELS OF SOCIETY
In parallel to these reviews, the theoretical work carried out indicated, as a major feature, that the notion of social exclusion is highly variable in meaning, notably because it is largely dependent on the different paradigms or modes of thinking about society. The three most pertinent paradigms to the analysis of social exclusion would be `solidarity', `specialization' and `monopoly'. These three paradigms are in reality theories of society, and exclusion has different causes and meanings in each Each paradigm attributes exclusion to a different cause, and is grounded in a different political philosophy: republicanism, liberalism and social democracy. Each provides an explanation of multiple forms of social disadvantage - economic, social, political and cultural - and thus encompasses theories of poverty and long-term unemployment, racial-ethnic inequality and citizenship" (Silver H., in Rodgers et al, 1995).
SOLIDARITY
The first paradigm, “solidarity”, sees exclusion as a breaking of the social tie, a failure of the relationship between the society and the individual. Implicitly there is a core of shared values and rights, a `moral community', around which the social order is constructed; a variety of institutions provide the mechanisms for integrating individuals in society, and exclusion reflects their failure and a possible danger to the social body. This model provides the underpinnings of the Republican notion of the French State; a similar logic is espoused by many nationalist regimes. It is within this model that the present notion of exclusion originated. It is rather obvious why: there is a clear and unitary notion of what it is that individuals and groups are excluded from.
SPECIALIZATION
The second paradigm, “specialization”, sees exclusion as resulting from individual behaviours and exchanges. Societies are composed of individuals with diverse interests and capabilities, and the structure of society is built around a division of labour and exchange in both economic and social spheres. Individuals may exclude themselves by their choices, may be excluded because of the patterns of interests or contractual relationships among other actors, or their exclusion may occur as a result of discrimination, of market failures or of unenforced rights. Society can be seen as composed of individuals who (voluntarily) participate in some domains and are excluded from others. Exclusion from one social domain does not imply exclusion from all. Thus exclusion is a much weaker concept here than in the solidarity paradigm.
MONOPOLY
The third paradigm, “monopoly”, sees society as hierarchical, with different groups controlling resources. Insiders protect their domains against outsiders by constructing barriers and restricting access - to occupations, to cultural resources, to goods and services. At the same time, they promote solidarity within the group. Membership of society is therefore necessarily unequal. But the picture may be complex, with a hierarchy of inclusions and exclusions rather than a simple dualism as in the solidarity model. The rules determining access to the more privileged groups also determine vulnerability, and determine who is excluded. The identity of the excluded is thus socially constructed. The same mechanisms may exclude immigrants in one situation, the illiterate in another and religious minorities in a third. Exclusion is a central aspect of this paradigm, a mechanism which underpins the existing structure of society.
CONTRASTING POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION
At one extreme, social exclusion can be seen as an element within a narrow definition of poverty in terms of the minimum standard of living below which one is absolutely poor. For example, this could be implemented by having a consumption-based poverty line which would include not simply food and other basic material needs but also an amount reflecting the cost of participating in the everyday life of society. At the other extreme, social exclusion can be seen as a replacement for poverty. Between these two positions, it is possible to see social exclusion as a particular broad notion of poverty.
With this perspective, social exclusion can be thought of as a multi-dimensional concept of poverty which introduces, in particular, aspects of social participation and rights realization into its conceptualization. Material poverty can be seen as a particular form of social exclusion.
What may be most important about social exclusion as a concept, at the individual level, is that it refers to processes of impoverishment. It directs the focus to the variety of ways in which people become poor, and variety of ways out of poverty. It points particularly to the links between poverty and employment, and the ways in which particular types of citizenship rights enable social and occupational participation.
It may also be suggested that "exclusion models" offer a broad class of explanations of income inequality. Social exclusion is linked to the process of income acquisition as this involves access to assets of various kinds (including conventional factors of production and social capital) and the income streams which can be derived from them.
A critical issue is how important social exclusion is to the growth-poverty relationship and whether it affects the rate of growth itself. Analysis of this issue deserves more attention and might clarify how poverty is affected by the process of globalization of economic relationships, notably through the fragmentation of labour and credit markets, and of other institutions at the national level, induced by this process.
TYPES AND CAUSES OF EXCLUSION
Economic Exclusion"Wealth defines the social levels or classes, and folk very much socialize exclusively with others of their own social level. The interaction between the classes is such that it limits the ability for folk to get to know each other. In this case both the poor and the rich are victims because everyone could all benefit by interacting with each other in one way or another.
Children growing up in poverty are likely to become entangled in a ‘cycle’ thus passing it from generation to generation. Entailing inequality of access to resources and opportunities, and often linked to discrimination, child poverty is a denial of children’s rights. It has severe long-term consequences, restraining children from achieving their full potential, adversely affecting their health, inhibiting their personal development, education and general well-being.
Medical ExclusionPoor people are excluded from better health services as they can’t afford to pay for it. On the other no one wants to hire handicapped people, even though they are capable of doing some activities. It is a serious problem in many countries, as a result most of handicapped people are most disadvantaged and in vicious cycle of poverty. Many people do not respect them. Ethnic/Racial ExclusionSometimes there conflicting interests between the original culture of the people and that of the country where they live live. They have to decide between the language of their origin, and the language they use every day. The same goes for religions and daily customs. Geographical ExclusionThere is a whole set of social problems which occur predominantly in urban areas. By and large, they are derived from stresses related to urbanization, such as overcrowding, pollution, long-distance commuting in precarious circumstances, lack of socio-cultural bonds, lack of access to basic services, etc. Gender-related ExclusionThe women are the most vulnerable part of in many societies.
The challenges to gender equality cut across all the affected socially marginalized populations. The gains that women in the region have seen in schooling, women's health, and the earnings gap between males and females have largely not accrued to those women.
Exclusion by Age People of the same age tend to share interests, excluding people of different age group. For example youths have different interests as compared of those of aged ones. Many old retired workers are regarded as the most experienced and re-apply the industrial, administrative and engineering jobs which need much experience while youths are left behind unemployed.

Exclusion from EducationFor school pupils /students abroad, originating from a different country, for example, the "education system if based on the language that they don’t understand well, they don’t do very well because of that foreign language.
Exclusion from CommunicationConcerning the Internet, "less than 4% of Internet users are in the Third World. In India, there is 0.2 Personal Computers for 100 people ; this compares with 15 PCs in Japan, and 21 PCs per 100 people in the United States. Therefore most people in the Third world can not access information through internet. Cultural Exclusion Through varied and extensive experiences, can affirm today that the ambition of partnership with the poorest means building bridges between the world of art and the world of the very poor, who are completely cut off from the noblest forms of art.

TO TACKLE SOCIAL EXCLUSION

To tackle social exclusion in order to effectively regenerate urban environments. The Social Exclusion Report of 1998 outlines a list of aims that highlight this relationship:

I. Getting people to work: skills and literacy training, mentoring, volunteering, intermediate labour markets etc.;
II. Getting the place to work: ‘super caretakers’, security wardens, filling unoccupied houses, mixtures of tenants, dealing with anti-social behaviour, evictions, arts and sports schemes;
III. Building a future for young people – arts and sports, coordinating health and other social services at school level, alternative education for excluded/self-excluded children, involving parents – parenting skills, work experience schemes;
IV. Access to services: encouraging local services (health, transport, banks etc) and businesses (low-cost shops) into deprived areas;
V. Making the government work better: encouraging networking/partnership approaches between different agencies; bottom-up approaches involving local communities; identifying schemes that work well.
However, these may not in all cases be enough to bridge divisions between different interest groups, including age groups. (Cattell & Evans, 1999: 20).

SOCIAL INCLUSION

Social inclusion is the reverse of social exclusion. It relates to the ability to fully participate in normal social activities or engage in political and civic life. This term is often used to describe the process of combating social exclusion.
Social inclusion enables people to learn together, building relationships across the lines that can divide them.

SOCIAL INCLUTION THROUGH IMPROVING LIVES
The new report, Improving Services, Improving Lives - Evidence and Key Themes, shows that public services need to do even more to help disadvantaged people to turn their lives around. It also shows that public service reform offers a real opportunity to make services work better for those who need them most.
The report is the first in a series from the unit looking at how public services can work better for disadvantaged people. It looks at the effectiveness of mainstream public services - including education and training, health, employment and benefits and housing - and highlights promising approaches in delivering services for disadvantaged adults.
Responding to the report Ed Mayo, Chief Executive at the National Consumer Council said: “So many public services touch the lives of ordinary people and yet the voice of those most vulnerable and reliant on them is rarely heard. If it leads to better services, this work will be invaluable”.
SOCIAL INCLUSION THROUGH INNOVATION
The new report, Inclusion Through Innovation:
Tackling Social Exclusion through New Technologies, explores the potential that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have to improve service delivery and quality of life for the most excluded groups, and argues that effective use of ICT is a key to addressing exclusion and meeting complex needs. The report is the second in a series from the Social Exclusion Unit looking at how public services can work better for disadvantaged people. It explores how ICT can be used to make mainstream public services - including education and training, health, employment and benefits and housing - more effective, efficient, and accessible for socially excluded groups, and sets out numerous examples of innovative uses of technology to address exclusion.
THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS) AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION

The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) represent a specific agreement for collaboration among donor countries and the developing world. Both the Bank’s social inclusion agenda as well as those of the countries of the Region could benefit substantially from this initiative if, during the initial years, consideration were given to its impact on the inequalities existing among the poor and the excluded groups. The primary objective of this area of research is to take advantage of the MDGs to promote social inclusion (e.g. by improving access and increasing opportunities) of the Fund’s target groups.

Emphasis will be placed on:
(i) encouraging consideration of the variables of race, ethnicity and disability and efforts to achieve these development goals; and
(ii) promoting innovative methodologies for measuring the potential impact if progress is made in furthering the MDGs without considerations of race, ethnicity and/or disability (e.g. policies and programs in the MDG areas benefiting only the least poor and/or those closest to achieving the established goal).

The Millennium Development Goals encourages States to gather, compile, analyze, disseminate and publish accurate statistical data at the national and local levels and to take all other related steps necessary to regularly assess the situation of individuals and groups that are victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance.

CONCLUSION
Social exclusion cannot be addressed by Government alone. Individuals and the wider community, in addition to the private and third sectors, all have a role to play. The care system, for example, is largely reliant on ordinary citizens taking up the challenge of fostering. But most of all, of course, people who are suffering social exclusion must want progress for themselves and those around them. By working together we can ensure that even the most excluded have a stake in the society and economy of tomorrow by seizing the opportunities that life offers today thus practicing social inclusion. Children born into poverty tend to remain poor for many reasons, but one is preeminent, they are much less likely to succeed in school. A critical cause of school failure among children in poverty is that they are not "ready to learn" when they enter school, and they seldom catch up. Early childhood intervention programs can help break this cycle of poverty; they can help level the playing field for disadvantaged children and help them reach their full potential. Non Governmental Organizations, Community Based Organizations, Human Right Activists and Political Parties and all other pressure groups should aim to equal opportunities to all.