A word coined in Marxist philosophy, it names those who in a capitalist society are even lower than the proletariat ("the working people, the working class") and are marginalized from society. While the expression proletarian (from the Latin proles, "set of children") was already known, the German voice lumpen ("rag, ragged") was added to it to form lumpenproletariat and give a name to beggars, thieves and prostitutes who are part of society but lack class consciousness.
