Labor aristocracy

In Marxist and anarchist theories, the labor aristocracy is the segment of the working class which has better wages and working conditions compared to the broader proletariat, often enabled by their specialized skills, by membership in trade unions or guilds, and in a global context by the exploitation of colonized or underdeveloped countries. Due to their better-off condition, such workers are more likely to align with the bourgeoisie to maintain capitalism instead of advocating for broader working-class solidarity and socialist revolution.

The concept was introduced independently by revolutionary socialists Mikhail Bakunin (in the 1870s) and Friedrich Engels (in 1858), the latter describing the emergence of trade unions consisting of such workers in Great Britain in the late 19th century. Engels' theory was further developed by Vladimir Lenin, who tied the concept to imperialism. Revolutionary industrial unions, such as the Industrial Workers of the World, used the term to describe trade-based business unionism, which they considered exclusionary.