Social exclusion: limitations of the debate

Bowring, Finn ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7475-5076 2000. Social exclusion: limitations of the debate. Critical Social Policy 20 (3) , pp. 307-330. 10.1177/026101830002000303

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

This article is a critique of what Ruth Levitas calls the ‘redistributionist discourse’ on social exclusion. While outlining a number of factors that have caused the living standards and welfare of the poorest members of society to deteriorate in recent years, I argue that there are serious limitations in the attempt to define social deprivation as shameinducing exclusion from social norms. I argue that, if breaking the cultural foundations of capitalism is a goal, then this means breaking with the dominant values of ever-rising consumer expectations. It means breaking with the logic of exchange-values, which dictates that the only needs worth expressing are those that correspond to commodity equivalents. As I argue in my conclusion, it also means breaking the link between the right to an income and the obligation to earn or use that income in ways consistent with the economic and cultural hegemony of capitalism.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Publisher:	SAGE Publications (UK and US)
ISSN:	0261-0183
Date of Acceptance:	1 May 2000
Last Modified:	09 Nov 2022 11:20
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/142813

Citation Data

Cited 54 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item