The 4 types of social exclusion (and their causes)

Human beings are, by nature, a social species. Researchers and anthropologists around the world consider that the biological evolution of Homo sapiens has seen usurped by the socio-cultural establishment and the formation of population nuclei over the long term. The term "biological fitness" no longer applies to our species, as it does to other living beings.

Fitness, at an evolutionary level, refers to the ability of a living being to survive and reproduce as much as possible throughout its existence. Human beings used to be guided by an evolutionary fitness principle, that is, adaptations were only aimed at escaping from predators and dominate the rest of the links in the food chain to expand their own genes in subsequent generations in the form of offspring. As you can imagine, this is no longer the case.

The term evolutionary fitness has given way to cultural fitness, a series of adaptations that do not correspond solely to the production of offspring and survival. For a living being to be functional and happy in a given society, it does not have to be biologically fit (within limits), but it does

show emotional intelligence and know how to be part of the culture in which they find themselves. Based on these interesting premises, today we will tell you all about the 4 types of social exclusion and their particularities.

• We recommend you read: "The 20 most serious social problems in Mexico"

What is social exclusion?

According to the European Foundation (1995), social exclusion can be defined as the process by which individuals or groups are totally or partially excluded from full participation in the society in which they live. For a person to be considered excluded, it is necessary that they have been deprived (actively) of a series of rights, opportunities and resources that other parts of the population can acquire, either by ethnicity, socioeconomic status or any another variable.

Social exclusion is not just a child in the yard with no one to play with. We are facing a much more complex term that, unfortunately, can be applied in almost all areas of life, encompassed in three different branches: resources, relationships and rights. Let's see what types of deprivation can occur on each of these fronts:

• Resources: An exclusion in the field of resources can mean a deprivation of human and social capital, product markets, labor markets, state provisions and community-owned resources.
• RelationsExclusion can happen in family networks, wider support networks, and in voluntary organizations (such as friends).
• Rights: social exclusion can also indicate a deprivation of human rights. We speak of the loss of human, legal, civic and democratic powers.

We do not need to focus specifically on which population groups suffer from social exclusion. Hundreds of examples directly come to mind that find the cause of rejection in the person's ethnicity, their sexual orientation, gender identity (LGTBIQ +), socioeconomic status, lack of primary education and many other things more.

Perhaps the clearest example of social exclusion today (due to recent events) is the systemic racism that has historically been established in the United States. 12.4% of white people in this country are unemployed, while almost 17% of the black population is without work and in a situation of considerable precariousness. The median salary of an African American person is 42% lower than that of a white person and, if that were not enough, the Black people's household wealth is negligible ($ 3,500) compared to other ethnic groups ($ 41,000). Dollars).

All these data are no coincidence: slowly but gradually, social exclusion prevents women from people who do not meet an arbitrary trait reach the same socioeconomic status as the rest. This makes access to basic social institutions (health, education and work) increasingly more difficult, so these people are further encouraged to cease to be part of the “useful and idyllic ”.

What are the types of social exclusion?

Social exclusion can manifest itself in many ways, from an anecdotal conversation between friends to rejection in a job interview just because of skin color. In any case, 4 types of social exclusion are postulated at the sociological level. We will tell you about them below.

1. Political exclusion

Political exclusion goes through the violation of civil rights, since a minority is being directly prevented from exercising political change in their place of residence through voting. As obvious as it may sound, this event conflicts with the human right to vote (universal suffrage), so it is a condemnable act both ethically and legally.

Beyond participation in elections, political exclusion includes deprivation of freedom of organization, freedom of expression and equal opportunities. The very concept of "State" could be included in the machinery of political exclusion, for example, if it grants facilities to certain citizens due to their wealthy socioeconomic condition and abandons the rest.

2. Economic exclusion

One of the social engines that drive the organization at the state level is, without a doubt, money. A person can be unhappy with all the money in the world, but hardly an inhabitant without a home and the right to health care due to lack of means will be able to feel lucky: all the money in the world cannot buy happiness, but in today's society, being happy without money is impossible.

Economic exclusion is characterized by individual or group impediment when entering labor markets, lack of access to credit and other capital resources. Put more simply, a person is in economic exclusion when his income is abnormally low, has an unstable job or is directly unemployed.

3. Social exclusion to use

Although all these terms are closely linked, this category includes exclusions and discrimination on various levels that make up the individual's "social entity", such as identity, gender, ethnic group or age. A socially excluded group (minority) is one that, simply due to a physiological or psychological characteristic, is separated from the labor market and their assets and access to them are limited.

We do not need to describe the minorities that today are experiencing systematic social exclusion: transgender people, racialized migrants, non-neurotypical people and people without high purchasing power are the clearest examples.

4. Cultural exclusion

The pan-Hispanic dictionary of legal Spanish defines cultural exclusion as follows: “it is the tendency to leaving people (or peoples) aside because of their ethnic and cultural differences with other people or peoples, thus limiting their access to quality social services, to labor and credit markets, to adequate physical conditions and infrastructure and the justice system with ethnic belonging and cultural.

In other words, cultural exclusion could be seen as a prolongation of exclusion social use, but placing special emphasis on ethnicity and tradition as vehicles of discrimination. Unfortunately, cultural exclusion is one of the most prevalent in society today, and it is often camouflaged in the form of “Opinions”, “advice” and other rhetoric that try to hide the real intention: to make the other person feel ashamed for being different.

Resume

We would like to end this space with a general and objective summary, but with these topics, it is impossible. The most comfortable thing is to present the facts in an impartial way and not generate discomfort in the reader, but, is this how changes are achieved at the social level?

We encourage you to ask yourself if, in recent times, you have really performed an act or done a comment that could promote social exclusion in any of its areas in your environment more righ now. From questioning a belief to judging a person's physical appearance by their identity as gender, there are many small acts that encourage systematic discrimination against minorities vulnerable.

By last, remember that your freedom ends when the rest begins. The rights are inalienable and immovable, as long as they do not result in the harm of other people in the short or long term. If any act carried out promotes discrimination against a person or group, it is surely illegal.