The lumpen in Marx’s works and its relevance for contemporary political struggle

Abstract

The role of class struggle in historical materialism and Marx’s works is central in explaining political, social, and historical phenomena. While the two main classes, the proletariat and bourgeoisie, drive the progress of capitalist society, Marx also includes references to other classes such as the lumpen that are historically relevant in class struggle. This article puts forward that Marx’s understanding of the lumpen continually changes throughout his works and is integral, not just peripheral, to class struggle. By examining the chronology of Marx’s definition of the lumpen, I argue that Marx’s later works break from his earlier indictments of the lumpen as counterrevolutionary when he concludes in Capital that the lumpen are an exploited class due to their relation to productive labor in capitalism. This approach to understanding the lumpen in Marx’s works leads me to argue that the lumpen can be a possible revolutionary force in revolutionary class struggle. Connecting Marx’s works to contemporary times, I show that traditional lumpen ways of production and life are becoming more ubiquitous, due to recent political and economic trends, and therefore more important to incorporate into political movements. I will contend that current political discourse has worked to discount the political actions of the lumpen in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, while at the same time the lumpen class has considerably grown in such countries. I conclude that the political left must incorporate an understanding of the lumpen into its struggles if it is to seriously create a radical class–based politics in the near future.