Meaning of Lumpen (What is it, Concept and Definition)

What is Lumpen:

The lowest social sector of the proletariat is known as lumpen, the one that is devoid of class consciousness .

As such, the word lumpen is the shortening of the German voice Lumpenproletariat , also adapted to Spanish as lumpemproletariat.Its translation would be something like 'proletariat of rags or rags'.

Lumpemproletariat is a term proper to the Marxist theory system, which was cradled by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the mid-19th century in his work German Ideology .

The lumpen is a eminently urban social group , which is mainly composed of socially degraded individuals, marginalized or not integrated into society, such as homeless people, beggars, prostitutes or criminals.

Their subsistence depends, to a large extent, on charity, dishonest or criminal activities, or on certain resources that for the other classes would be discarded.s.

As such, the lumpen does not have any means of production or provide a workforce , so it is considered an unproductive social group.In addition, it lives in conditions that are very below those of the proletariat.

Because the lumpen lacks class consciousness, it is a social group that can be bought by the powerful classes and support their projects in order to ensure their survival.

See also Proletariat.

Lumpemburguesia

The word lumpemburguesia is a neologism that is formed from the German voice lumpen and the term bourgeoisie .Applied to the context of Latin America and the dynamics of colony and neocolonia that take place, there is talk of lumpemburguesia to refer to colonial and neo-colonial elites whose extreme dependence on the powers of colonial powers it has resulted in them lacking self-consciousness or self-consciousness, and supporting their colonial masters, historical exploiters of their resources.In this sense, lumpemburguesia is an intermediary class between the exploiting powers and the local producers.

See also Bourgeoisie.