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Inclusion and Exclusion—A Guiding Distinction to the Understanding of Issues of Cultural Background
Author(s) -
Jönhill Jan Inge
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
systems research and behavioral science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1099-1743
pISSN - 1092-7026
DOI - 10.1002/sres.1140
Subject(s) - inclusion (mineral) , multiculturalism , insider , diversity (politics) , action (physics) , sociology , social exclusion , epistemology , immigration , cultural diversity , inclusion–exclusion principle , environmental ethics , social science , political science , law , philosophy , pedagogy , physics , quantum mechanics , politics , anthropology
Claims for equal rights and action against discrimination because of cultural background are current issues within the multicultural global society. How can society today manage cultural differences making differences? The main aim of this article is to contribute to the understanding of issues of immigration and cultural background or diversity. It is argued that such issues may be analyzed fruitfully through the use of inclusion and exclusion as a guiding distinction, in the sense it has been developed in systems theory by Niklas Luhmann and others. It is shown how inclusion and exclusion operates in different contexts. One conclusion is that in modern society, it is never only a case of a simple division into (full) ‘outsider‐ship’ and ‘insider‐ship’, respectively. Another conclusion is that discrimination is not structurally inherent in modern society as such, but that it is a possible outcome primarily because of the characteristics of organizations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.