The Lumpen Proletariat and the Crisis Tendencies of Capitalism

This chapter discusses the concept of lumpen proletariat and its relation to the working class. It explores how the lumpen, which refers to undignified workers including petty criminals and prostitutes, undermined the efforts of the workers' movements to organize and give dignity to the working class. The chapter also delves into the dark side of the working class's class consciousness and the crisis tendencies of capitalism, which could only be resolved by the victory of the working class or the working class becoming lumpen.