PROLETARIATE Meaning and
Definition
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The proletariat, derived from the Latin word "proletarius," refers to the social class of wage workers who do not possess any means of production. In Marxist theory, the proletariat is believed to be the working class, comprising individuals who are economically dependent on selling their labor power in order to survive. They are characterized by their lack of ownership or control over the means of production, such as land, factories, tools, or resources.
The proletariat's pivotal role lies in the process of capitalist production, where they produce goods or services that generate profit for the bourgeoisie, the capitalist class that owns the means of production. This class dichotomy between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie is often associated with social inequality and exploitation, as the bourgeoisie profit from the surplus value created by the labor of the proletariat. Karl Marx argued that the struggle between the proletariat and bourgeoisie would lead to a revolution, bringing about the establishment of a socialist or communist society in which the means of production are collectively owned and class distinctions are eliminated.
The term "proletariat" can also be used more broadly to refer to the working class as a whole, without necessarily encompassing the Marxist revolutionary connotation. In contemporary usage, the proletariat often denotes the segment of society involved in manual labor or low-income jobs, and is commonly associated with individuals engaged in industrial, factory, or service sector occupations.
Common Misspellings for PROLETARIATE
- proletariet
- -proletariat
- proletarat
- proletarit
- oroletariate
- lroletariate
- -roletariate
- 0roletariate
- peoletariate
- pdoletariate
- pfoletariate
- ptoletariate
- p5oletariate
- p4oletariate
- priletariate
- prkletariate
- prlletariate
- prpletariate
- pr0letariate
- pr9letariate
Etymology of PROLETARIATE
The word "proletariat" derives from the Latin term "proletarius", which referred to the lowest social class in ancient Roman society. In the Roman context, the word "proletarius" originally indicated individuals who had little or no wealth and therefore contributed to society primarily by producing offspring (proles), in contrast to the upper classes who could contribute to the city with their property. This term was further developed and popularized by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the 19th century as they discussed social classes and the revolutionary potential of the working class in their works on communism and socialism. Ultimately, the term "proletariat" came to represent the working-class individuals who were divorced from the means of production and depended on selling their labor in order to survive.
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