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. A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philosophy considers the
proletariat to be exploited under 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 argued 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.
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Marx used the term
proletariat in his socio-political theory (Marxism) to describe a progressive
working class untainted by
private property and capable of
revolutionary action to topple capitalism and abolish
social classes, leading
society to ever higher levels of prosperity and
justice. Marx defined the
proletariat as the social class having no significant ownership of the means of production and whose only means of subsistence is to sell their labor power for a wage or salary.
Lumpenproletariat refers to the underclass devoid of class
consciousness. It may be used in an informal disapproving manner to describe people who are not clever or well educated, and who are not interested in changing or improving their situation.
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