Based on a discussion by contemporary social theorists concerning Brazil's historical formation and its incorporation into a project for a modern society, the article identifies two forms of particularism ­ differences and personal relations ­ which limit access to the market and to rights in the public sphere. The particularism of differences produces social and symbolic exclusion, hindering the formation of feelings of belonging and social interdependence, necessary for effective institutionalization of universalism in the public sphere. The particularism of personal relations permeates new institutional arrangements that incorporate participation by society in public policy management. Still, although these new arrangements and arenas bear the political and cultural marks of Brazil's historical background, they constitute open possibilities for a new equation involving universalism and particularism.