Socialinė atskirtis: sąvokos samprata ir vartosena Lietuvoje

Abstract

In the context of the struggle against poverty (a little later poverty and social exclusion), that run in European Union in the last decade of 20th century, the concept of social exclusion has become a cult. Great attention is paid to the reduction of social exclusion and ensuring of social cohesion at the level of European Union. That is seen in establishment of special institutions and the increase of number of publications on this issue. The countries of European Union that have made progress in this field have appropriate national administrative and scientific research institutions on the issues of social exclusion and social cohesion.
Lithuania, not long ago seeking for the membership in EU, now has become one. So as a member country it had to assume certain obligations due to poverty and social exclusion. And social exclusion more often becomes a keystone concept while creating measures of social policy in Lithuania.
But the remarks of critics, that social exclusion is only a new form of speechmaking that has no connection to real life, are not without a reason. And it shows in everyday communication that it is not clear to people what is the social exclusion.
The purpose of the article is to critically reveal what the social exclusion means in the contemporary Lithuania context and how this concept is used in the country. The investigation is based on the analysis of academic literature, strategical documents and research reports. In the article are discussed not only ideas of Lithuanian researchers on this topic but that of European researchers too.