The lumpenproletariat (German Lumpenproletariat, "rabble-proletariat"; "raggedy proletariat") is a term originally defined by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in The German Ideology (1845), their famous second joint work, and later expounded upon in future works by Marx. In Marx's The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (1852), the term refers to the 'refuse of all classes,' including 'swindlers, confidence tricksters, brothel-keepers, rag-and-bone merchants, organ-grinders, beggars, and other flotsam of society.'
In the Eighteenth Brumaire, the lumpenproletariat were a 'class fraction' that constituted the political power base for Louis Bonaparte of France in 1848. In this sense, Marx argued that in the particular historical events leading up to Louis Bonaparte's coup in late 1851, the proletariat and bourgeoisie were productive and progressive, advancing the historical process by developing society's labor-power and its capabilities, whereas the 'lumpenproletariat' was unproductive and regressive.
According to Marx, the lumpenproletariat had no real motive for participating in revolution, and might have in fact an interest in preserving the current class structure, because members of the lumpenproletariat often depended on the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy for their day-to-day existence. In that sense, Marx saw the lumpenproletariat as a counter-revolutionary force.
Marx's definition has influenced contemporary sociologists, who are concerned with many of the marginalized elements of society characterized by Marx under this label. Marxian and even some non-Marxist sociologists now use the term to refer to those they see as the victims of modern society, such as prostitutes, beggars, and homeless people, who exist outside the wage-labor system, but depend on the formal economy for their day-to-day existence.
Used as a pejorative
In modern Russian language, "lumpen", the shortened form of "lumpenproletariat", is sometimes used to refer to lower classes of society. The meaning of the term is roughly analogous to chav,scanger, white trash, or yobbo. See [1] as an example of such use.
See also
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