In Marxism, the Lumpenproletariat ("rag-proletariat" in German) is class of people who are at lowest level of society and do not have class consciousness (awareness about their place in the class struggle). Generally they are unemployable or are criminals.
Some left-wing activists believe that the lumpenproletariat the "most exploited" class of people and therefore the most revolutionary, but others think that they cannot be organized into revolutionary forces and are more likely to be paid agents who are hired to stop revolution.[1]