The Legal Function In The Theory Of Social Exclusion

The theory of social exclusion, originated in France, was essentially part of sociological theory. However, it was gradually adopted by most countries of Europe, because it could be used for more accurately explaining the causes of social conflicts. It has changed from a theory studied by people in an initially limited scope to one currently involving every field and aspect of people’s life. So far, the theory of social exclusion has developed to be "unumbrellaitem". Therefore, the exploration and discussion on the root of social conflicts from the perspective of social exclusion is increasingly emphasized by sociologists, lawyers, social policy researchers, and the governments of all countries.In fact, the root of social conflicts in the western society had been always explained as a conflict between social classes before the emergence of the theory of social exclusion, so the theory of class struggle was the basic to explain social conflicts. The development of the society indicates that social conflicts still exist even if there are no large conflicts between classes. In terms of sociological theory, in a society, there are nations with different cultures and also people with different identity, social employment, gender, educational background, income, and social activities, etc. Because of these differences, different social groups emerge and social exclusion exists between different social groups. As a result, social conflicts occur if the social exclusion between different social groups advances to a certain extent. This is why the theory of social exclusion has come into being.Along with the development of the theory of social exclusion and the further exploration of people, scholars have shifted the focus of study from social exclusion to anti-social exclusion(i.e. social integration) while from theoretical study to practical exploration. But what is the most effective way of converting social exclusion to social integration? Seen from the current study situation, most scholars of China discussed the theory of social exclusion and the social policies against social exclusion from the perspective of sociology, and proposed many suggestions and measures about anti-social exclusion in the studying process. These suggestions and measures played a positive role in the conversion of social exclusion to social integration. At present, social exclusion phenomena as well as problems are still frequently common, and the people living in the shadow of social exclusion are still in dire suffering. Thus, many theories, suggestions and measures raised by sociologists are not able to completely settle the social exclusion and conflicts between different social groups.From a legal sense, social exclusion problems are ultimately questions concerning about human rights, and law remains to be one of the most effective ways of solving social conflicts, even though the theory of social exclusion has been addressed in all social fields and theories including law and evolved into today’s "unumbrellaitem". Thus, legal supports and protections are demanded by the conversion of social exclusion to social integration, and the role of law in actively promoting social integration is to establish relevant systems and securities using the values of law.In China, the root of social conflicts was usually explained with the theory of social class struggle. Since the Third Plenary Session of the 11 th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, however, the paramountcy of class struggle was no longer in existence, while the social work center was shifted to the economic construction in China. Decades of history proved that social conflicts were never ceasing and also had been so serious that a temporary social stability was necessarily exchanged with the cost of "safeguarding stability". As for the root of social conflicts, people feel dazed and confused, because the theory of social class struggle has been not applicable to explain and simultaneously news social theories are unavailable.Both the theory of social exclusion in sociology and the legal theory are used for explaining the root of social conflicts on a foundation as accurate as possible. In all fairness, the theory of social exclusion in sociology is more accurate than the legal theory to explain the root of social conflicts, but becomes less useful to solve the social conflicts. The theory of social exclusion in the western sociology is foreign to China, but it can more accurately reveal the root of social conflicts, so this type of theories must be borrowed for uncovering the root of China’s social conflicts. From the above analysis, it is meaningful to reveal the root of social conflicts using the theory of social exclusion and then solve the related problems using law. This is why this paper is created.