one of exclusivity can be traced back to the names chosenbythe first socialist
groups duringtheiryears in exile. When the Bund der Geächteten (Leagueofthe
Abject),aconspiratorial group founded in 1834 by Germansocialists in Paris, be-
came the Bund der Gerechten (Leagueofthe Just), one of the London-based
splinter groups foundedbyWilhelmWeitling (1808–1871)in1836, the original
experience of disrespect was thus magicallytransformed into an attitude of
moral superiority.Inthe 1848Manifesto of theCommunistParty,touse the orig-
inal title, the role of the communists in uniting the perspectivesofclass and
party is spelled out in clear terms,but the precarious status of the“proletarian”
as afigure defined by deficiencies–thatis, of being ignorant and irrational–
leavesbehind manyconceptual ambiguities, includingthoserelatedto mass dis-
course:
The Communists,therefore, areonthe one hand, practically, the most advancedand reso-
lute section of the working-class parties of every country,that sectionwhich pushes for-
wardall others;onthe other hand, theoretically, they have over the great mass of the pro-
letariat the advantage of clearlyunderstandingthe line of march, the conditions,and the
ultimategeneral results of the proletarian movement.⁵Etymologyoffersauseful wayofaccessing the emotional qualityofproletarian
identifications, for it clarifies the constitutive elements that can turnacategory
of abjection into one of empowerment.InLatin,proletarii(fromproles,meaning
offspringorprogeny)refers to those citizens who, in the Roman census, werelist-
ed as being without property.Inother words, they wereclassified through their
condition of lack and exclusion. Their onlywealth?Their labor and theiroff-
spring,the workers of the future. In nineteenth century discourses,this structur-
al definition continues in descriptions of the workers asanew social group
brought forth by two connected, but opposing forces, the industrialrevolution
and the socialist movement.Taking inspiration from theFrenchproletariat,
therevolutionary workers first appeared in the GermanlanguageasProletarier
andProletariatin the 1846 poem“Vonuntenauf!”(“Up from below!”)byFrie-
drichFreiligrath (1810–1876). Henceforth two cognate nouns, similar to that of
“bourgeois”and“bourgeoisie,”can be distinguished, with the more descriptive
“proletarian”usually referringtoindividual agents and the more abstract“pro-
letariat”typicallydescribing social processes.Within the time period covered by
this book,“proletariat”seems the preferredterm in studies thatfocus on the
structures of domination in classsociety,whereas“proletarian”prevails in crit-
Marx and Engels,“Manifestoofthe Communist Party,”MECW6: 497.
52 Chapter 2