Proletariat
The proletariat is a term used by communists for the working class. It describes the people in society that sell their labor/work in exchange for a wage or salary. Someone is who part of the proletariat class is called a proletarian.
The political way of thinking of communism states that the proletariat should have a revolution and take control of the means of production away from the bourgeoisie.
The proletariat is the laboring bulk of society that does most of the useful, necessary work, and pays most of the taxes. It is also perceived by capitalists as being necessary for those reasons: labor and taxes, plus being available to exploit to produce profits.
History
The word proletariat comes from the Latin word proletarius, which means "maker of offspring". In Ancient Rome, the proletarii were the people who were so poor that the only form of property that they had were their children, who could be used as soldiers.
Modern use
Karl Marx used the word proletariat to describe people who did not own the means of productions (such as factories and land) and had to work for others for a wage. He thought the proletariat class will eventually overthrow the Bourgeoisie class. He was the creator of historical materialism and scientific Communism.[1] In Marxist theory, the lumpenproletariat ("rag-proletariat" in German) were a class of people who were not interested in revolution.
Marx believed that the bourgeoisie exploited the proletariat.
Proletariat Media
Secessio plebis, a form of protest in ancient Rome where the plebeians would leave the city, causing the economy to collapse
Jean-François Millet – The man with the hoe
Adolph Menzel – Iron rolling mill (1872–1875)
A 1911 Industrial Worker publication advocating industrial unionism based on a critique of capitalism. The proletariat "work for all" and "feed all".
References
- ↑ Cf., Sidney Hook, Marx and the Marxists (Princeton: Van Nostrand 1955) at 13.
