Social Class Oppression as Social Exclusion: A Relational Perspective

Abstract

The ways we think about systemic inequalities can open up new forms of resistance and reform. This chapter explores and extends understandings of social class oppression with an aim to re-imagine psychologists’ role in contesting economic inequalities. It argues that social class injustice is produced through and constituted by forms of social exclusion. In emphasizing the ways that poor people are excluded from everyday sources of power, security, and democratic rights, the chapter highlights the relational dimension of social class, demonstrating that class is something that happens in human relationships. From a relational view, class is embodied through the everyday processes in which we all participate, and patterns of systemic injustice are enacted among individuals occupying different social class locations. A relational approach opens up new possibilities for counteracting the social exclusion of poor people, both for psychologists and for citizens committed to social change.