- by Kmet Skala
- The Guardian
- Issue #2163
What is a proletariat?
A proletariat is someone who does not own any capital or property to extract wealth from, and so must sell their labour, i.e. work, to earn money. This is opposed to the bourgeoisie, who is someone who owns capital or property to extract wealth from, and so does not need to work.
Does proletariat just mean worker?
In a broad sense, yes. However, your image of a worker may be one of industrial workers. However, worker is far more broad than just that. Someone can work, but not be a member of the proletariat.
So a proletariat is someone who has no choice but to work for a living?
Got it
How do I know if I am one?
If you have to work to make money, you are a member of the proletariat. Even if you own some capital or property, if you still need to work to make money, you are still a member of the proletariat.
Isn’t this word a bit old fashioned?
It might sound that way, but we still live in a capitalist system, so the term ‘proletariat’ is still very relevant.
Is this proletariat just a Russian thing?
The word itself comes from French, with Latin origins, and was famously used by Karl Marx, a German. You probably associate it with Russia because the first successful socialist revolution happened in the Russian Empire, creating the Soviet Union. However, it is universally applicable.
