lumpenproletariats

Noun

lumpenproletariat (plural lumpenproletariats)

1. (Marxism) 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.
   • For this reason Marx avoided encouraging the facile but false idea that to abolish exploitation meant simply to strip the rich of their movable possessions: this was contrary to his own theory and only served to foster the envious and predatory mentality of peasant movements and the...1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume I: The Founders, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: powstanie (in...
2. A social underclass; the riffraff.

   Synonyms:

   hoi polloi, mob, rabble, riffraff