Editing Lumpenproletariat

The '''Lumpenproletariat''', alternatively called '''lumpenprole''' or '''lumpen''', refers to an unthinking underclass that is (but not always) exploitable by reactionary and counter-revolutionary forces. The term was coined by [[Karl Marx]] and [[Friedrich Engels]]. 

Marx defined the lumpenproletariat as a dangerous class and "passively rotting mass" thrown off the lowest layers of the old society.<ref>{{Citation|title=[[Communist Manifesto]]|author=[[Karl Marx]]|chapter=1|page=15|mia=https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch01.htm
|quote=The "dangerous class", [lumpenproletariat] the social scum, that passively rotting mass thrown off by the lowest layers of the old society, may, here and there, be swept into the movement by a proletarian revolution; its conditions of life, however, prepare it far more for the part of a bribed tool of reactionary intrigue.}}</ref>

He and [[Vladimir Lenin]] dismissed the revolutionary potential of the lumpenproletariat.

== Etymology ==

Lumpen was a prefix for "rag"; therefore Lumpenproletariat literally means "rag proletariat".

== Instances ==

* Prostitutes
* Criminals (tramps, vagabonds, homeless persons)

=== Unemployed workers ===
Unemployed workers can turn into lumpenproletariats; a result of being barred from employment by capitalists. 

Unemployed workers typically consist of:
* Blacklisted workers
* Disabled persons

== References ==