social exclusion

The emergence in modern Western societies of the increasing group, or underclass, who do not have the means, material and otherwise, to participate in social, economic, political, and cultural life. The term was invented in France and applied to people who fell through the social security net. More recently, it has been used by the UK Labour government, which, in December 1997, set up a special Social Exclusion Unit, based at 10 Downing Street, to deal with the problem.

It has been estimated that the socially excluded, who include, as well as the unemployed and the disabled, those who lack transport, secure housing, and even a telephone, may number 10 million in the UK, or a fifth of the population. The Downing Street unit focuses on three particular problems: poor housing estates; children who are expelled from school, or are persistently truant; and the homeless.