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  3. The Dangerous Class: The Concept of the Lumpenproletariat

The Dangerous Class: The Concept of the Lumpenproletariat

Clyde W. Barrow
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Marx and Engels' concept of the "lumpenproletariat," or underclass (an anglicized, politically neutral term), appears in The Communist Manifesto and other writings. It refers to "the dangerous class, the social scum, that passively rotting mass thrown off by the lowest layers of old society," whose lowly status made its residents potential tools of the capitalists against the working class. Surprisingly, no one has made a substantial study of the lumpenproletariat in Marxist thought until now. Clyde Barrow argues that recent discussions about the downward spiral of the American white working class ("its main problem is that it is not working") have reactivated the concept of the lumpenproletariat, despite long held belief that it is a term so ill-defined as not to be theoretical. Using techniques from etymology, lexicology, and translation, Barrow brings analytical coherence to the concept of the lumpenproletariat, revealing it to be an inherent component of Marx and Engels' analysis of the historical origins of capitalism. However, a proletariat that is destined to decay into an underclass may pose insurmountable obstacles to a theory of revolutionary agency in post-industrial capitalism. Barrow thus updates historical discussions of the lumpenproletariat in the context of contemporary American politics and suggests that all post-industrial capitalist societies now confront the choice between communism and dystopia.

 
  • Cover
  • Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Contents
  • Acknowledgments
  • Abbreviations
  • Introduction
  • Chapter 1. The Lumpenproletariat: Etymology, Lexicology, and Translation
  • Chapter 2. The Lumpenproletariat as an Economic Category
  • Chapter 3. The Lumpenproletariat as a Cultural Category and Style of Life
  • Chapter 4. The Lumpenproletariat as a Political Category
  • Chapter 5. The Lumpenproletariat as a New Revolutionary Vanguard
  • Chapter 6. The Lumpenproletariat: Communism or Dystopia?
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
  • Index
Citable Link
Published: 2020
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN(s)
  • 978-0-472-13224-9 (hardcover)
  • 978-0-472-12808-2 (ebook)
Subject
  • Political Science:Political Economy
  • Economics:Economic Theory
  • Class Studies
  • Political Science:Political Theory

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Figure 1 is an Ngram chart that tracks the annual frequency that the term lumpenproletariat is used in the English language from 1840 to 2008. The term first appears in 1898. Its use increases in 1924 and its use spikes again in 1935. Its use declines after the Great Depression and then shows a sharp spike in usage from 1955 to 1975.

Frequency of Use of the Term “Lumpenproletariat” in the English Language, 1840-2008

From Chapter 1 and Introduction

Figure 1. Frequency of use of the term lumpenproletariat in the English language, 1840–2008. Note: Figure 1 is a Google Books Ngram, which visually and empirically illustrates how frequently the term lumpenproletariat appears in English-language books compared to other terms. The term shows a notable upsurge in usage during the 1960s and 1970s.

Figure 2 is an Ngram chart that tracks the frequency of the use of the term lumpenproletariat in the German language from 1820 to 2008. The term is little used until the period from 1902-1910. Its use spikes a second time from 1920-1935. The term reaches its peak usage from 1960 to 1985.

Frequency of Use of the Term “Lumpenproletariat” in the German Language, 1820-2008

From Chapter 1 and Introduction

Figure 2. Frequency of use of the term lumpenproletariat in the German language, 1820–2008. Note: Figure 2 is a Google Books Ngram, which visually illustrates how frequently the term lumpenproletariat appears in German-language books compared to other terms. The term shows a notable upsurge in usage during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

Figure 3 is an Ngram chart that compares the frequency of the use of the terms lumpenproletariat and underclass in the English language from 1800 to 2008. The term lumpenproletariat reaches its peak usage in 1975 and then declined rapidly. At the same time, the use of the term underclass spikes dramatically from 1975 to 2000.

Comparative Use of the Terms “Lumpenproletariat” and “Underclass” in the English Language, 1840-2008

From Introduction

Figure 3. Comparative use of the terms lumpenproletariat and underclass in the English language, 1840–2008. Note: Figure 1 is a Google Books Ngram, which visually illustrates how frequently the term lumpenproletariat appears in English-language books compared to other terms. The term shows a notable upsurge in usage during the 1960s and 1970s, but it is replaced by the term underclass in the 1980s. A Google Ngram of the same two terms in German (not included here) reveals a similar pattern.

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