proletaariseerumine

Proletaariseerumine, or proletarianization, is the process by which individuals or groups move from positions with some degree of control over production to wage labor within capitalist economies, losing ownership of or direct control over the means of production. The result is a shift from autonomous work to dependence on an employer and the labor market.

In Marxist and sociological theory, proletarianization describes the historical expansion of wage labor during industrialization, including the decline of independent artisans and craft production as factories and large-scale organization of labor become dominant. The concept is linked to deskilling, where labor tasks become more standardized and controlled, reducing workers’ autonomy.

Mechanisms include outsourcing and subcontracting, financial and legal barriers that favor capital over small producers, capital-intensive production, and technological change that reduces independent craft autonomy. As production processes become centralized, workers increasingly sell their labor rather than owning the means of production.

Consequences involve changes in social class structure, often an erosion of traditional artisanal status and the formation of a sizeable working class with distinct set of relative bargaining disadvantages. The concept remains relevant for understanding changes in labor organization and the emergence of new forms of wage dependence in various sectors.

Contemporary debates view ongoing or renewed proletarianization in gig and platform work, service industries, and global value chains. Critics note that some workers retain or gain autonomy in certain arrangements, while others emphasize the broad tendency toward wage dependence in many parts of modern economies.