Etymology

labour aristocracy

Today it means: Segment of the working class that enjoys a relatively privileged position compared to the rest of the working class as a result of higher salaries, better working conditions, etc., and which can lead them to have different interests and perspectives even though they continue to be exploited by capitalists. Full definition →

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The story

Compound of labour + aristocracy. The theory about relatively privileged proletarians, thus more manipulable into collaborating with the bourgeoisie, was formulated by Friedrich Engels in a letter to Karl Marx [7 October 1858]. A precursor to the wording appears in Marx's Das Kapital, Volume I [1867].

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.