Name That List, #46
What is this a list of? The answer is below in extended.
Answer:
According to Karl Marx, these were all representative members of what he called the lumpenproletariat, this being the underclass that was devoid of class consciousness and easily manipulated by propaganda. Wikipedia notes, "lumpenproletariat has sometimes been rendered as 'social scum', 'dangerous classes', 'ragamuffin', and 'ragged-proletariat'."
Source: The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte by Karl Marx, 1852.
- vagabonds
- discharged soldiers
- discharged jailbirds
- escaped galley slaves
- swindlers
- mountebanks
- lazzaroni
- pickpockets
- tricksters
- gamblers
- maquereaux [pimps]
- brothel keepers
- porters
- literati
- organ grinders
- ragpickers
- knife grinders
- tinkers
- beggars
Answer:
According to Karl Marx, these were all representative members of what he called the lumpenproletariat, this being the underclass that was devoid of class consciousness and easily manipulated by propaganda. Wikipedia notes, "lumpenproletariat has sometimes been rendered as 'social scum', 'dangerous classes', 'ragamuffin', and 'ragged-proletariat'."
Source: The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte by Karl Marx, 1852.
On the pretext of founding a benevolent society, the lumpenproletariat of Paris had been organized into secret sections, each section led by Bonapartist agents, with a Bonapartist general at the head of the whole. Alongside decayed roués with dubious means of subsistence and of dubious origin, alongside ruined and adventurous offshoots of the bourgeoisie, were vagabonds, discharged soldiers, discharged jailbirds, escaped galley slaves, swindlers, mountebanks, lazzaroni, pickpockets, tricksters, gamblers, maquereaux [pimps], brothel keepers, porters, literati, organ grinders, ragpickers, knife grinders, tinkers, beggars — in short, the whole indefinite, disintegrated mass, thrown hither and thither, which the French call la bohème; from this kindred element Bonaparte formed the core of the Society of December 10.
Comments
The group of people seen on the streets during my trip to Paris last year. Well, maybe not any galley slaves.
Posted by KDP on 02/06/18 at 09:38 AM
The post-educational careers of the people in my High School graduating class?
Posted by PupTentacle on 02/06/18 at 09:42 AM
Eagles fans? (And I say that as an Eagles fan)
Posted by Brian on 02/06/18 at 10:08 AM
Members of the U.S. Congress?
Posted by Virtual on 02/06/18 at 10:55 AM
I wonder why old Karl omitted prostitutes. Maybe he had a soft spot for them.
Posted by Virtual on 02/06/18 at 12:42 PM
I was going to guess it was a list of occupations for a boatload of European immigrants who came to the U.S. in the very early 1900's.
Posted by Fritz G on 02/07/18 at 07:00 AM
@Virtual -- Women weren't targets of propaganda because, at that time, they didn't have even the semblance of political power or social rights which men had. If they'd tried to advance any cause, all men, even those who also supported the cause, would have immediately suppressed them because women didn't have the right to have an opinion.
Posted by Phideaux on 02/07/18 at 02:01 PM
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Category: Name That List