Descripción:
This article explores diverse cases of social exclusion across time and space aiming to uncover its essential production processes. Special attention is paid to the various ways in which exclusion originates and how it becomes ingrained into the structure of society. Cases of exclusion are drawn from the U.S., Japan, China, India, and Jamaica. The study found that social exclusion is a phenomenon which derives primarily from ethnocentric dispositions which express through a variety of discursive and social practices aimed at keeping certain groups relegated to the bottom of society. Also, that some excluded communities are able to develop collective identities and adversarial cultures which translate into politicized identities. The article ends by pointing out to some of the difficulties present in the social deconstruction of exclusion.