Alfred Wong and Christine Ribeiro
Income inequality has gained considerable prominence worldwide in recent years. The growing discontent among the lower-income segment of industrialized societies is limited largely to resentment because of economic wealth being perceived to be steadily concentrating among fewer people. Quantified economic inequality does not necessarily mean the extreme deprivation of people, especially in Europe and North America. There will be no revolutionary-scale social unrest among the middle class if their expectation of satisfactory wellbeing is continually met. The connection between income inequality and poverty is uncertain because of the variable definition of poverty. The classical characterization of poverty is largely deficient as the actual economic hardships encountered by the lowest-income segment of society are never fully described in the socio-geographic context. What is deprivation in Europe and North America may be considered to be “luxurious” in economically poorer countries.
Anna Karwińska
Social exclusion is defined for the needs of social policy as “ a refusal to follow, or leaving a socially accepted way of life”. This leads often to the emergence of a significant number of social misfits who frequently get used to the condition of being passive, or to “acquired helplessness”, leaning on social welfare institutions, and at times becoming strongly dependent on them. Needless to say, this may lead to the vicious circle syndrome which is a real threat for many people in Poland. Withdrawal and giving up the attempts that might improve their condition resulting from their low self-esteem worsen the prospects of a person or a family. The paper presents the significance of the development of social economy to support the necessary social changes, primarily social integration and reintegration may be analyzed within three basic areas. Firstly, a proper social and economic context for those changes, secondly creating opportunities to find one’s own place, mainly, but not only on the labor market, and thirdly transformations in social attitudes and aspirations.