Societal Security and Social Exclusion

Abstract

Among the nonmaterial human needs, the most important, from the point of view of social policy, is the need for security. Thus, the important issue is to guarantee citizens a sense of social security. Though on one hand, economic development brings an increase in wealth of society, and thus, an increased sense of social security, on the other hand, in society, there are still individuals and groups who, for various reasons, do not take advantage of the fruits of that progress. This applies especially to those, who have limited access to basic goods and services which are commonly available. This category of people are those, who are excluded or socially marginalized. There are three most characteristic features for social exclusion: a low level of participation in social life, long duration and non-voluntary state of such condition, restricting possibilities of use of basic civil rights. The issue of social exclusion has recently been recognized by the European Union as one of the main social problems. Hence the announcement of 2010 as the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion and taking concrete actions to reduce these phenomena. This gives hope that in the European Union as well as in Poland, quantitative dimensions of social exclusion can be reduced.