Proletaras Courses

Proletarians are common people of the lower classes, especially those who work in manual labor or manufacturing and whose only means of support is from the wages they earn. They are sometimes referred to as the “have-nots” while the wealthy are referred to as the “haves”. Historically, the term has been used to refer to workers in industrial societies, but more broadly, proletarians can include anyone who works for wages, regardless of status or job type. In Karl Marx’s writings, proletarians were considered the lowest of the working classes because their only means of income was their own labor. Crucially, they had no control over their working conditions, no ownership of the means of production (such as factories, machines, minimum capital) and therefore no control over the products of their labor. Due to exploitation, they were unable to better their economic situation or escape from the class of the proletarians. In today’s society, many people who fall into the proletariat have been forced into this situation as a result of economic hardship. For example, with the decline of manufacturing jobs and the outsourcing of labor, many workers have found themselves in precarious employment and with little economic power or rights. As economic inequality increases and wages continue to be stagnant for most of the population, the number of citizens living in the proletariat continues to grow. Due to the powerlessness of proletarians, many are prone to radicalism and social unrest, which can lead to revolutionary movements in society.