1 The neglect of economic capital in social exclusion !"!! # $ % &! # $ ! $ ! % # # $! % % & # % $ $! ’ ( # % ! ) % * $* * The neglect of economic capital in social exclusion 1. Introduction Like so many concepts dealing with disadvantage, deprivation and poverty, social exclusion can exist on many levels. In this paper we argue that whilst material disadvantage is only one part of the problem, it is perhaps the most significant factor in enabling an individual to develop and maintain social ties. This choice of focus reflects the reality that social capital has an important role to play in explaining exclusion from mainstream society, but it must follow from an understanding of economic deprivation. There are important similarities between social capital and social exclusion. For example, both ideas are concerned with the quality and density of social relations and stress the importance of active participation in opposition to the “contemporary tendency to social