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This paper sets out the environment of inequality in which social work and the poor have recently operated. It explores pragmatic and idealist arguments concerning whether or not the poor need social work. Finally, policy solutions developed in consultation with social service users and carers are suggested in relation to poverty and social exclusion. Social exclusion can be linked to relative poverty as exclusion from economic and social norms. However, there is a wider brief in our own government's publications and those of Europe, of examining how people are excluded from actions and policies of agencies who are there to support them. This paper will retain the concepts of poverty as lack of material income, and inequality as the gap between the rich and the poor, while being aware of the policy implications for social service users and carers of the more comprehensive process of being shut out partially or fully from social, economic, political and cultural systems. The debates around social work, social exclusion and inequality that follow establish: that some of the poor do need social work; that the poverty of social service users is related to policies that have restructured welfare in Britain; that the reason for individuals approaching or being referred to social services are complex but are likely to include financial deprivation as a key contributory factor; that if the poor do need social work, advocacy is essential rather than social work being seen as concerned only with social control—taking children into care, mentally ill people into hospitals, and advising the DSS on the suitability of claimants for benefits. Finally, the discussion turns to new policy agendas on social exclusion instigated by the Labour government. What positive difference can such policies make for social service users, their carers and social workers?.

Inequality is a complex phenomenon where economic, political, social, cultural, environmental, territorial and cognitive dimensions interact. In this framework of ideas, we analyze the expressions of territorial inequalities that proliferate in Panama City linked to the forces of the land market where the main protagonist is the State through its housing policy decisions and public investment. ; La desigualdad es un fenómeno complejo donde interactúan dimensiones económicas, políticas, sociales, culturales, ambientales, territoriales y cognitivas. En ese marco de ideas, analizamos las expresiones de las desigualdades territoriales que en ciudad de Panamá se reproducen vinculadas a las fuerzas del mercado de suelo, donde el protagonista principal es el Estado a través de sus decisiones de políticas habitacionales e inversión pública.

Within sustainability science, there are questions pertaining to how certain actions for guaranteeing a good life for one part of the population can even result in catastrophic consequences to another. The global holistic view that would address all inequalities and exclusions is one of the greatest challenges of today. In this chapter, we will elaborate on two central concepts of sustainability science that are particularly relevant to facing these challenges: inequality in access to power and exclusion from positions of power. These are both very visible acts of exclusion, often hidden in the very grain of society's structure in a manner that makes them almost impossible to study and change. Inequality and exclusion are cultural constructions of power, and it is important to see how these influence practical actions and institutional (hidden) practices. The practices locate certain individuals or groups of people in a more disadvantaged position than others and naturalize these inequalities with a set of actions and explanations. This chapter will present the operation of these practices with two concrete, situated examples of migrants with irregular status in the European Union and the Roma minority in Finland. ; Peer reviewed

This paper examines the impact of social inequality and social exclusion on health. Social exclusion in health can be explained by socioeconomic inequality in health as socioeconomic position mediates access to resources including health services. Moreover, the impact of socioeconomic position on health is mediated by people's differential exposures to a very broad range of physical, chemical, biological, social, psychological and behavioral risk factors to health. People belong to upper strata of society in developed and developing countries have been experiencing higher level of life expectancy and better health status than those who are at the bottom of the society. There is evidence that societies that are more economically equal and socially cohesive have lower overall mortality than those that are more unequal. Interventions focusing on improving socioeconomic condition and increasing social inclusion and equity in social, economic and political dimensions can contribute to reduce inequities and social exclusion in health. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/dsaj.v6i0.8477 Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol. 6, 2012 25-48