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| lum·pen·pro·le·tar·i·at [ lùmpən prōlə térree ət, lmpən prōlə térree ət ] |
noun |
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| Definition: |
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1. permanent underclass: in Marxist analysis, people regarded as living on the margins of society, particularly criminals, homeless people, and the long-term unemployed
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2. lower-class people: people from the lowest social class who are regarded as too content with a life that is supposedly intellectually empty and socially inferior
(
disapproving
)
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| [Early 20th century. < German< Lumpen, plural of Lump "ragamuffin" + French prolétariat (see proletariat)] |
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