Theproletariat (/ˌproʊlɪˈtɛəriət/; fromLatin proletarius 'producing offspring') is thesocial class ofwage-earners, those members of a society whose possession of significanteconomic value is theirlabour power (their capacity to work).^[1] A member of such a class is aproletarian or aproletaire.Marxist philosophy regards the proletariat under conditions ofcapitalism as anexploited class^[2]⁠ forced to accept meager wages in return for operating themeans of production, whichbelong to the class ofbusiness owners, thebourgeoisie.

Karl Marx argued that this capitalist oppression gives the proletariatcommon economic and political interests that transcend national boundaries,^[3] impelling them to unite and totake over power from thecapitalist class, and eventually to create asocialist society free from class distinctions.^[4]

Theproletarii constituted asocial class of Roman citizens who owned little or no property. The name presumably originated with the census, which Roman authorities conducted every five years to produce a register of citizens and their property, which determined their military duties and voting privileges. Those who owned 11,000assēs (coins) or fewer fell below the lowest category for military service, and their children—prōlēs (offspring)—were listed instead of property; hence the nameproletarius (producer of offspring). Romancitizen-soldiers paid for their own horses and arms, and fought without payment for thecommonwealth, but the only military contribution of aproletarius was his children, the future Roman citizens who could colonize conquered territories. Officially, propertyless citizens were calledcapite censi because they were "persons registered not as to their property...but simply as to their existence as living individuals, primarily as heads (caput) of a family."^{[5][note 1]}

Although explicitly included by name in theComitia Centuriata (Centuriate Assembly),proletarii were the lowest class, largely deprived of voting rights.^[6] Not only didproletarii have less voting "weight" in the various elections, but since voting ran hierarchically starting with the highest social ranks, a majority could be reached early and their votes never even taken. Late Roman historians such asLivy vaguely described theComitia Centuriata as a popular assembly of early Rome composed ofcenturiae, voting units representing classes of citizens according to wealth. This assembly, which usually met on theCampus Martius to discuss public policy, designated the military duties of Roman citizens.^[7] One of the reconstructions of theComitia Centuriata features 18centuriae of cavalry, and 170centuriae of infantry divided into five classes by wealth, plus 5centuriae of support personnel calledadsidui, one of which represented theproletarii. In battle, the cavalry brought their horses and arms, the top infantry class full arms and armour, the next two classes less, the fourth class only spears, the fifth slings, while the assistingadsidui held no weapons. If unanimous, the cavalry and top infantry class were enough to decide an issue.^[8] A deeper reconstruction incorporating social backgrounds found that the senators, the knights, and the first class held 88 out of 193centuriae, the two lowest propertied classes held only 30centuriae, but theproletarii held only 1. Musicians, by way of comparison, had more voting power despite far fewer citizens, with 2centuriae. "[F]or the voting to reach theproletarii a very profound split in the elite and the higher classes was required."^[9]

In the early 19th century, many Western European liberal scholars—who dealt with social sciences and economics—pointed out the socio-economic similarities of the modern rapidly growing industrial worker class and the classic proletarians. One of the earliest analogies can be found in the 1807 paper of French philosopher and political scientistHugues Felicité Robert de Lamennais. Later it was translated to English with the title "Modern Slavery".^[10]

Swiss liberal economist and historianJean Charles Léonard de Sismondi was the first to apply the proletariat term to the working class created under capitalism, and whose writings were frequently cited byKarl Marx. Marx most likely encountered the term while studying the works of Sismondi.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Marx, who studiedRoman law at theFriedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin,^[15] used the termproletariat in his socio-political theory (Marxism) to describe a progressive working class untainted byprivate property and capable ofrevolutionary action to topple capitalism andabolish social classes, leading society to ever higher levels of prosperity and justice.

Marx defined the proletariat as the social class having no significant ownership of themeans of production (factories, machines, land, mines, buildings, vehicles) and whose only means of subsistence is to sell their labour power for awage orsalary.^[16]

Marxist theory only vaguely defines the borders between the proletariat and adjacent social classes. In the socially superior, less progressive direction are the lowerpetty bourgeoisie, such as small shopkeepers, who rely primarily on self-employment at an income comparable to an ordinary wage. Intermediate positions are possible, where wage-labor for an employer combines with self-employment. In another direction, thelumpenproletariat or "rag-proletariat", which Marx considers a retrograde class, live in theinformal economy outside of legal employment: the poorest outcasts of society such as beggars, tricksters, entertainers, buskers, criminals and prostitutes.^[17][18]Socialist parties have often argued over whether they should organize and represent all the lower classes, or only the wage-earning proletariat.

According to Marxism, capitalism is based on theexploitation of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie: the workers, who own no means of production, must use the property of others to produce goods and services and to earn their living. Workers cannot rent the means of production (e.g. a factory or department store) to produce on their own account; rather, capitalists hire workers, and the goods or services produced become the property of the capitalist, who sells them at the market.

Part of the net selling price pays the workers' wages (variable costs); a second part renews the means of production (constant costs, capital investment); while the third part is consumed by the capitalist class, split between the capitalist's personal profit and fees to other owners (rents, taxes, interest on loans, etc.). The struggle over the first part (wage rates) puts the proletariat andbourgeoisie into irreconcilable conflict, as market competition pushes wages inexorably to theminimum necessary for the workers to survive and continue working. The second part, called capitalized surplus value, is used to renew or increase the means of production (capital), either in quantity or quality.^[19] The second and third parts are known assurplus value, the difference between the wealth the proletariat produce and the wealth they consume.^[20]

Marxists argue that new wealth is created through labor applied tonatural resources.^[21] The commodities that proletarians produce and capitalists sell are valued not for their usefulness, but for the amount oflabour embodied in them: for example, air is essential but requires no labor to produce, and is therefore free; while a diamond is much less useful, but requires hundreds of hours of mining and cutting, and is therefore expensive. The same goes for the workers' labor power: it is valued not for the amount of wealth it produces, but for the amount of labor necessary to keep the workers fed, housed, sufficiently trained, and able to raise children as new workers. On the other hand, capitalists earn their wealth not as a function of their personal labor, which may even be null, but by the juridical relation of their property to the means of production (e.g. owning a factory or farmland).

Marx argues that history is made by man and not destiny. The instruments of production and the working class that use the tools in order to produce are referred to as the moving forces of society. Over time, this developed into the levels of social class where the owners of resources joined to squeeze productivity out of the individuals who depended on their labor power. Marx argues that these relations between the exploiters and exploited results in different modes of production and the successive stages in history. These modes of production in which mankind gains power over nature is distinguished into five different systems: the Primitive Community, Slave State, Feudal State, Capitalist System, and finally the Socialist Society. The transition between these systems were all due to an increase in civil unrest among those who felt oppressed by a higher social class.^[22]

The contention with feudalism began once the merchants and guild artisans grew in numbers and power. Once they organized themselves, they began opposing the fees imposed on them by the nobles and clergy. This development led to new ideas and eventually established the Bourgeoisie class which Marx opposes. Commerce began to change the form of production and markets began to shift in order to support larger production and profits. This change led to a series of revolutions by the bourgeois which resulted in capitalism. Marx argues that this same model can and should be applied to the fight for the proletariat. Forming unions similar to how the merchants and artisans did will establish enough power to enact change. Ultimately, Marx's theory of the proletarian's struggle would eventually lead to the fall of capitalism and the emergence of a new mode of production, socialism.^[22]

Marx argued that the proletariat would inevitably displace the capitalist system with thedictatorship of the proletariat, abolishing the social relationships underpinning the class system and then developing into a communist society in which "the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all".^[23]

During theChinese Communist Revolution, the concept of the proletariat emphasized having a proletarianclass consciousness, rather than having proletarian social attributes (such as being an industrial worker).^[24]: 363 In this way of defining the proletariat, a proletarian class consciousness could be developed through a subjective standpoint with political education supplied by theChinese Communist Party.^[24]: 363 This conception of the proletariat allowed for a Marxist theoretical framing under which the revolution could address the relative weakness of industrial working classes in China.^[24]: 363 Exactly what constituted a proper proletarian class consciousness was subject to intellectual and political debate.^[24]: 97

Marx argued that each social class had its characteristic culture and politics. Thesocialist states stemming from theRussian Revolution championed and created the official version ofproletarian culture.

Some^[who?] have argued that this assessment has become outdated with the advent of mass education, mass communication and globalization. According to this argument, theworking-class culture of capitalist countries tend to experience "prole drift" (proletarian drift), in which everything inexorably becomes commonplace and commodified. Examples include best-seller lists, films, music made to appeal to the masses, and shopping malls.^[25]

• Blackledge, Paul (2011)."Why workers can change the world".Socialist Review. London. Archived fromthe original on 2011-12-10. Retrieved2011-12-03.364
• Hal Draper,Karl Marx's Theory of Revolution, Vol. 2; The Politics of Social Classes. (New York: Monthly Review Press 1978).