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Lumpenproletariat

From ProleWiki, the proletarian encyclopedia
(Redirected from Pauper)

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.[1] He and Vladimir Lenin dismissed the revolutionary potential of the lumpenproletariat. However, Mao believed that the lumpenproletariat could be revolutionary with the correct guidance.[2]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

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

Instances[edit | edit source]

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

Unemployed workers[edit | edit source]

Unemployed workers can turn into lumpenproletarians a result of being barred from employment by capitalists.

Unemployed workers typically consist of:

References[edit | edit source]

  1. “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.”

    Karl Marx. Communist Manifesto: '1' (p. 15). [MIA]
  2. Mao Zedong (1926). Analysis of the Classes in Chinese Society. [MIA]