The proletariat is a term often used to describe the working class that sells their labor for wages. There are several synonyms for the proletariat, including the working class, the laboring class, the common people, the masses, the rank and file, and the underclass. These synonyms all refer to people who rely on wages to survive and who do not own or control the means of production. The proletariat is a central concept in Marxist theory, which views the struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie as the driving force of history. Regardless of the specific terminology used, the importance of the working class as a class that is exploited and oppressed by capitalist systems remains crucial today.