Padrões de exclusão e estratégias pessoais

This text starts from the premise that people may be included only in certain spheres of social life (work, income, social networks, culture, politics, leisure, etc.) – not in all of them. This multidimensional and relational conception of exclusion and inclusion immediately raises two key issues: one concerning the patterns of inclusion and exclusion that result from the combination of different dimensions of social participation, and the other concerning the strategies used by the individuals who are not “automatically” included in order to broaden or to strengthen those spheres of participation. Based on research carried out in six European countries, the authors analyze these questions, discussing, among other aspects, the occurrence of virtuous and vicious circles in the different spheres of social life, the argument of the dominance of inclusion through the labor market, and the diversity of the strategies of compensation, substitution and reinforcement of the positions of individuals in the different arenas of social participation