IAMA lumpen by birth; AMA. Or whatever the lemmy equivalent is.
From a technical point of view, lumpen survive and reproduce their class differently to proletarians. So their class interests differ to those of proletarians, in ways that mean they can’t be relied upon in a revolution. In many ways, they prey on the proletariat to survive (theft, vice, etc), although they prey on the bourgeoisie as well, when they can.
The rise of communism eradicates their sociological niche, so to speak. As a result, any random lumpen is more likely to oppose it than to support it.
Incidentally, peasants also got short shrift for the same reason, although the niche they occupy happens to be a different one.
edit: forgot to mention the “reserve army” aspect of the lumpen, which is that their mere existence weakens proletarian class power. In a labour dispute, for instance, the bourgeoisie can go to the lumpen to find strike-breakers or scabs.
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IAMA lumpen by birth; AMA. Or whatever the lemmy equivalent is.
From a technical point of view, lumpen survive and reproduce their class differently to proletarians. So their class interests differ to those of proletarians, in ways that mean they can’t be relied upon in a revolution. In many ways, they prey on the proletariat to survive (theft, vice, etc), although they prey on the bourgeoisie as well, when they can.
The rise of communism eradicates their sociological niche, so to speak. As a result, any random lumpen is more likely to oppose it than to support it.
Incidentally, peasants also got short shrift for the same reason, although the niche they occupy happens to be a different one.
edit: forgot to mention the “reserve army” aspect of the lumpen, which is that their mere existence weakens proletarian class power. In a labour dispute, for instance, the bourgeoisie can go to the lumpen to find strike-breakers or scabs.