Social exclusion is a relatively new concept which emerged in the scientific and political discourse at the end of the 20th century amid criticism of the concept of a welfare state, which proclaimed the supremacy of principles of equal opportunities and wealth distribution. The shift of the emphasis from eradication of poverty to creating conditions to ensure access for vulnerable population groups to social institutions of integration has greatly expanded existing perceptions of people’s situation in the society, going far beyond economic problems. The relevance of the research lies in global transformations in the economic, social, political and other spheres of life. In the modern world , effective implementation of modernization changes requires the formation of a new type of the society which would create opportunities for people’s self-expression and self-realization. Social exclusion limits the potential of a part of the population unable to participate in the social life. Due to the underdeveloped research area in the Russian science, the article attempts to identify the correlation between people’s exclusion from the society and modernization on the example of the regional community. The research hypothesis is the assumption that social exclusion of certain population groups prevents modernization. Based on the developed indicators: the social inclusion index, which gives an idea of the safety of vulnerable population groups in the society, and the regional community modernization index, reflecting people’s willingness to change in terms of personal growth, new technology, knowledge and skill development, inclusion in innovation activities, – a direct correlation of inclusion of socially vulnerable population groups and the level of regional community modernization.
Calculations based on data of the sociological survey conducted by the “Vologda Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences” in 2017 confirmed the hypothesis: the higher the social inclusion index, the higher is regional community modernization index. The author concludes that it is necessary to build an inclusive society in Russia
Keywords
modernization, values, mentality, social exclusion, social inclusion, regional community