Communion: Truth vs. Tradition

Who should be "permitted" to partake of the Communion table? When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, "For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body" (1 Corinthians 11:29), was he relegating average Christians to remain second-class citizens in the Kingdom? Did he intend that only the perfect have this privilege that Jesus paid for on the cross of Calvary? What does "unworthily" even mean? What is "damnation"? What does it mean to discern the Lord's body? What is the purpose of Communion? And why is it a bad thing if someone does not partake of it for whatever reason or reasons?
These are all questions that must be answered if the average believer is to benefit from this most important of Christian sacraments.