lumpenproletariat means The lowest stratum of the proletariat, whose mental and physical health, mores and morale have deteriorated, through exploitation by the bourgeoisie, to a degree where they cannot build class consciousness and hence cannot be mobilized for the revolution. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 70 out of 100.
Why this word is great
LUMPENPROLETARIAT — [Noun] The lowest stratum of the proletariat, lacking class consciousness and considered unorganizable for revolutionary action. From German Lumpenproletariat, coined by Karl Marx, from Lumpen ("rag, ragamuffin") + Proletariat ("proletariat"). Unlike "proletariat," which denotes the organized industrial class central to revolutionary theory, or the neutral sociological "underclass," lumpenproletariat is a term of political contempt, marking a caste as economically and morally redundant. It is the pickpocket working the crowd for his own pocket, the shuffling queue before the pawnbroker's grille at dawn, and the scab hired to break a picket line—the human debris of capital, a living reminder that desperation can corrode the very possibility of collective hope.
noun
- The lowest stratum of the proletariat, whose mental and physical health, mores and morale have deteriorated, through exploitation by the bourgeoisie, to a degree where they cannot build class consciousness and hence cannot be mobilized for the revolution.“I hadn't quite figured her out yet: rude snob or lumpenproletariat?”
- A social underclass; the riffraff.