EN
The phenomenon of exclusion and marginalization appears to be mainly a kind of cultural, social construction, existing in the minds of people who marginalize others, and those who are marginalized. That process usually leads to the fact that a particular individual, a social group or a whole culture begin to embrace that construction. Many scientific disciplines, including sociology, investigate the etiology of that type of phenomena. The main objective of the article is to describe and analyze some basic sources which initiate those processes. Based on scientific publications on that topic of Polish and foreign sociologists and social psychologists, the author aims to depict and examine the processes from positions of an individual, a group and intergroup interactions. Where necessary, the presented test results will be complemented with concrete examples taken mainly from the papers of Zygmunt Bauman, an eminent Polish sociologist, philosopher and essayist.