OBLICZA BIEDY, WYKLUCZENIA I MILCZĄCEJ CODZIENNOŚCI

: The article is situated within the framework of critical sociological analysis, focusing on the experiences of individuals whose voices remain marginalized within dominant narratives of success and self-reliance. In line with P. Bourdieu’s theory, poverty and social exclusion are understood as structural outcomes of unequal access to various forms of capital, rather than as personal failures. From Z. Bauman’s perspective, exclusion signifies the creation of categories of “superfluous” people within the logic of late-modern consumer societies. At the same time, as U. Beck argues, marginalization results from the privatization of risks and social costs in the “risk society.” Its persistence is reinforced by political decisions, dominant discourses, stereotypes, and culturally embedded prejudices. Equally important is social indifference, which J. Habermas in­terprets as a communication deficit in the public sphere. The aim of this study is to reconstruct and critically analyze the dynamics of exclusion in both Polish and global contexts. The analysis addresses institutional mechanisms of marginalization as well as survival strategies and forms of resistance developed by excluded individuals. Rather than proposing simplistic solutions, the text seeks to inspire reflection, foster sociological imagination (C. W. Mills), and cultivate ethical and political sensitivity toward inequality.