Proletariat: Difference between revisions

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The '''proletariat''' is the [[social class]] of [[Wage labor|wage-earners]], those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their [[labour power]] (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a '''proletarian'''.  
The '''proletariat''' is the [[social class]] of [[Wage slavery|wage-earners]], those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their [[labour power]] (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a '''proletarian'''.  


[[Marxism]] considers the proletariat to be oppressed by [[capitalism]], forced to accept meager wages in return for operating the [[means of production]], which belong to the class of business owners, the [[bourgeoisie]]. Marx claimed that this oppression gives the proletariat [[Workers of the world, unite!|common economic and political interests]] that transcend national boundaries, impelling them to unite and [[Dictatorship of the proletariat|take over power]] from the capitalist class, and eventually to create a [[Communism|communist]] society free from class distinctions.
[[Marxism]] considers the proletariat to be oppressed by [[capitalism]], forced to accept meager wages in return for operating the [[means of production]], which belong to the class of business owners, the [[bourgeoisie]]. Marx claimed that this oppression gives the proletariat [[Workers of the world, unite!|common economic and political interests]] that transcend national boundaries, impelling them to unite and [[Dictatorship of the proletariat|take over power]] from the capitalist class, and eventually to create a [[Communism|communist]] society free from class distinctions.  
 
In ''[[The Principles of Communism]]'', [[Friedrich Engels]] explains that the proletariat is "that class in society which lives entirely from the sale of its [[labour]] and does not draw profit from any kind of [[capital]]." Their "sole existence depends on the demand for labor," and therefore the bourgeoisie subjects them to competition amongst their fellow workers.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Friedrich Engels|newspaper=Marxists Internet Archive|title=The Principles of Communism|date=1847|url=https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/11/prin-com.htm|retrieved=11-22-2022}}</ref>
 
The interests of the proletarian are in conflict with those of the bourgeois.
 
== See also ==
 
* [[Precariat]]
*[[Useless class]]


==External Links==
==External Links==
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*[https://leftypedia.org/wiki/Proletariat Leftypedia] ([[Leftypedia|about]])
*[https://leftypedia.org/wiki/Proletariat Leftypedia] ([[Leftypedia|about]])
*EcuRed ([https://www.ecured.cu/Proletariado Spanish], [https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecured.cu%2FProletariado English auto translated]) ([[EcuRed|about]])
*EcuRed ([https://www.ecured.cu/Proletariado Spanish], [https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecured.cu%2FProletariado English auto translated]) ([[EcuRed|about]])
[[fr:Prolétariat]]
[[Category:Marxist terminology]]
[[Category:Social class]]
[[Category:Working class]]
[[Category:Proletariat]]

Revision as of 16:16, 22 November 2022

The proletariat is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian.

Marxism considers the proletariat to be oppressed by capitalism, forced to accept meager wages in return for operating the means of production, which belong to the class of business owners, the bourgeoisie. Marx claimed that this oppression gives the proletariat common economic and political interests that transcend national boundaries, impelling them to unite and take over power from the capitalist class, and eventually to create a communist society free from class distinctions.

In The Principles of Communism, Friedrich Engels explains that the proletariat is "that class in society which lives entirely from the sale of its labour and does not draw profit from any kind of capital." Their "sole existence depends on the demand for labor," and therefore the bourgeoisie subjects them to competition amongst their fellow workers.[1]

The interests of the proletarian are in conflict with those of the bourgeois.

See also

External Links

please use these external links to improve this page

  1. Friedrich Engels (1847). "The Principles of Communism" Marxists Internet Archive. Retrieved 11-22-2022.