lumpenproletariat

American  

[luhm-puhn-proh-li-tair-ee-uht] / ˈlʌm pənˌproʊ lɪˈtɛər i ət /

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)

1. the lowest level of the proletariat comprising unskilled workers, vagrants, and criminals and characterized by a lack of class identification and solidarity.

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lumpenproletariat British  

/ ˌlʌmpənˌprəʊlɪˈtɛərɪət /

noun

1. (esp in Marxist theory) the amorphous urban social group below the proletariat, consisting of criminals, tramps, etc

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Etymology

Origin of lumpenproletariat

1920–25; < German (Marx, 1850), equivalent to Lumpen rag or Lumpen-, combining form of Lump ragamuffin + Proletariat proletariat

Example Sentences

Brown’s older brothers became part of the lumpenproletariat until the law caught up with them.

From Washington Post

“You know, I just saw ‘The Hairy Ape’ by Eugene O’Neill, and the line that keeps recurring in this lumpenproletariat protagonist in the play is ‘I don’t belong,’ ” he says.

From Washington Post

He realized that he’d been part of the lumpenproletariat, a term that Marx coined to describe “thieves and criminals of all kinds, living on the crumbs of society.”

From The New Yorker

Famously described by Marx as the lumpenproletariat, they were rare and reluctant voters, although I suspect many did vote in the EU referendum.

From The Guardian

I assumed my forebears had been poor, but poverty homogenises – the labouring poor, the working class, the lumpenproletariat – as if it were an identity and not a condition.

From The Guardian