ABSTRACT
Structural and institutional discrimination has harmed many unprivileged groups since early modernisation processes in almost all societies around the world. Among the classics of social theory, institutional discrimination against workers as embedded in the capitalist system has been discussed and explored not only by Marx and Marxist social scientists, but also by non-Marxist scholars such as Max Weber and Emile Durkheim. Since the mid twentieth century, the feminist and anti-racist movements have highlighted discrimination against women and ‘otherised’ minority groups, such as black people and migrants. ‘Racial’ discrimination against otherised people in its institutional forms harms many people living in Europe because of the colour of their skin, their religion and/or origin of birthplace, and excludes them from access to the most elementary means of power and influence in European countries.
