The Causes of Social Exclusion

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The Causes of Social Exclusion

Social exclusion refers to inequality in society, where individuals or

groups may be cut off in involvement with the wider society. Social

exclusion can take a number of forms. An individual or group may be

excluded due to their age cohert, gender, race, educational

background, neighbourhood, class and more. A class in social terms can

be defines as a large scale grouping of people who share common

economic resources which strongly influence the type of lifestyle they

are able to lead. (Gidden, 2001 p.282) There are mainly three types of

classes in society today, the upper class, the working class and the

underclass. The underclass population being structured at the bottom

of society.

In 1962, Mydral first described the underclass as being unemployed,

but twenty years later, a New York journalist named Ken Auletta (1982)

argued this view. Ken said that the underclass is a group of poor

people who were not included in society due to dependency on state

benefits, denial of work ethics, failed morality and rejection of

family norms. Muncie J (1999). People who are likely to commit street

crimes and be involved in urban riots also come into this group.

Observers may say that the underclass is a group of society whom are

not involved in production work or those that have been excluded from

the labour market systematically. The young and homeless may be

referred to as the underclass, though some may bring the black

population that are dependent on state welfare into this category. The

poorest groups and individuals in society have been marked out as

being dangerous classes and social outcasts. Illeg...

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Bibliography

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Gidden A (2001). Sociology: Class, stratification and inequality. 4th

ed. Cambridge. Polity Press.

Morris L (1994). Dangerous Classes: The Underclass and Social

Citizenship. London and New York. Routledge.

Muncie J (1999). Youth and Crime: Radical and Realist Criminoligies.

London. Sage publications.

Byrne D (1999). Social Exclusion: The Possessive Individualists:

Blaming the Poor. Buckingham. Open University Press.

Murray C et al (1990). The Emerging British Underclass. London. The

IEA Health and Welfare Unit.

Smith J D et al (1992). Understanding The Underclass. London. Policy

Studies Institution.

Jock Young. Crime and Social Exclusion. Retrieved 9th January 2005

from the Worldwide Web:

http://www.malcolmread.co.uk/JockYoung/crimeandsocial exclusion.htm

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