Definitions by Smackster
proletariat
The working class. People who don't make things but rather sell their labor in the workplace, when the means of production are owned by someone else. The most widely known example is the factory worker. The international proletariat make up about 50% of the world population at this point. See wordbourgeoisword.
A shirt is worth $10. The boss has a factory to make shirts. Workers get paid $1 a shirt that they make, and the cotton costs $1 a shirt. So the boss spends $2 on every shirt. 10-2 is 8. The boss gets $8 a shirt, the worker gets only $1. Something's wrong here...
proletariat by Smackster October 5, 2003