Typy marginesowości w społeczeństwach i ich rola

The article is devoted to the social margin's role in the process of social change. The author aims at defining the concept of marginality and suggesting a typology of social marginality on the basis of social and cultural criteria. She distinguishes social marginality, cultural marginality and socio-cultural marginality. Additionally, she describes psychological marginality as a separate type. Social marginality is typical of people sharing larger society's values but performing only irregular functions in this society. Cultural marginality is characteristic of a group whose values are different than these of the larger society but which performs regular functions in this society. The author emphasizes the potential for incurring change that marginal groups possess: this potential could result in creative impulses or in destruction depending on the configuration of marginality and historical context. The following adaptive reactions of a marginal group could be distinguished: conformism, innovation, ritualization, retreatism or rebellion.