Marginality: A Critical Review of the Concept

Abstract

Marginality is a widely used concept in the literature on inequality and development. It has gained momentum, especially in the context of rising inequality in the post-liberalised and globalised world. This article looks into the evolution of marginality, analyses its role in the developmental discourse and argues that the interrelation between objective and subjective aspects of marginality constitutes the idea of it. This discussion identifies marginality as a measure of inequality in a given social context and time and indicates the degree of inequality experienced by individuals or groups. The article is divided into four parts. The first part looks into the change in meaning and components of marginality. The second part discusses marginality with other closely related concepts such as exclusion, poverty, the culture of poverty and precarity. The third part engages with the constituents of the marginal situation, and the fourth part discusses different typologies available to understand the dimensions of marginality.