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The Lumpenproletariat
The largest social class of the Third World. The peasant masses are largely made of rural farmers, and they live traditional lives that still resemble precolonial culture. The peasant masses are “the only spontaneously revolutionary force in the country,” and, Fanon contends, they are exceedingly important to the revolutionary cause. The peasant masses are the first to be oppressed and neglected when systems of neocolonialism take over, and they are generally mistrusting of the national bourgeoisie.
The Peasant Masses Quotes in The Wretched of the Earth
The The Wretched of the Earth quotes below are all either spoken by The Peasant Masses or refer to The Peasant Masses. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2: Grandeur and Weakness of Spontaneity
Quotes
The great mistake, the inherent flaw of most of the political parties in the underdeveloped regions has been traditionally to address first and foremost the most politically conscious elements: the urban proletariat, the small tradesmen and the civil servants, i.e., a tiny section of the population which represents barely more than one percent.
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It is among these masses, in the people of the shanty towns and in the lumpenproletariat that the insurrection will find its urban spearhead. The lumpenproletariat, this cohort of starving men, divorced from tribe and clan, constitutes one of the most spontaneously and radically revolutionary forces of a colonized people.
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The Peasant Masses Quotes in The Wretched of the Earth
The The Wretched of the Earth quotes below are all either spoken by The Peasant Masses or refer to The Peasant Masses. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2: Grandeur and Weakness of Spontaneity
Quotes
The great mistake, the inherent flaw of most of the political parties in the underdeveloped regions has been traditionally to address first and foremost the most politically conscious elements: the urban proletariat, the small tradesmen and the civil servants, i.e., a tiny section of the population which represents barely more than one percent.
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Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
It is among these masses, in the people of the shanty towns and in the lumpenproletariat that the insurrection will find its urban spearhead. The lumpenproletariat, this cohort of starving men, divorced from tribe and clan, constitutes one of the most spontaneously and radically revolutionary forces of a colonized people.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
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