this post was submitted on 16 Dec 2025
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Why do Marx and Lenin disregard the lumpenproletariat? (hexbear.net)
submitted 2 months ago by CupcakeOfSpice@hexbear.net to c/askchapo@hexbear.net
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I have not read every document the two wrote regarding the subject, so I may be misunderstanding; but the ProleWiki makes it sound like Marx and Lenin--and therefore Marxist-Leninists would--disregard the revolutionary potential of the lumpenproletariat. It seems like sex workers and homeless folks and disabled people are all spat on by the bourgeoisie and would be glad to help take them down? I'm disabled and mostly unable to work (I do work a little, but not even enough to be part-time) and I consider myself an ML.

The wiki describes the lumpen as exploitable by reactionary and counter-revolutionary forces, but we've seen in the West that the proletariat as a whole is susceptible to these forces. See Zohran run one of the most radical campaigns we've seen in a while and then put on Zionist officials and advocate for changing the system from the inside. The working class is content to sit down and wait for someone else to make change for them. Most disabled people I know, on the other hand, are ready to tear the system down with their own hands. So are we supposed to just gloss over a group of people who've been pressure cooking this whole time? If so, why?

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[โ€“] ColombianLenin@hexbear.net 18 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Well, it's more a historical observation that still holds true today.

Thieves, pimps, general folks with high material struggles, these are all people that can be outright bought with money to do anyone's bidding.

They can be hired to kill or snitch or generally go against the interests of the proletariat.

There is no way the masses can satisfy the material needs of the lumpenproletariat in the same way that the bourgeoisie can, and so, the lumpenproletariat is much more easily swayed in favor of counter revolution.

[โ€“] CupcakeOfSpice@hexbear.net 10 points 2 months ago

I guess. I can see some people for whom that'd hold true, and this is an observation of the whole lumpenproletariat and not of each individual. But even people with great material wealth sell out, changing their entire political stance to align with the person with the most money. I just don't quite understand who this is a specifically lumpen issue.