Everything about Parasitism Social Offense totally explained
» This article describes parasitism as a social offense in human society. For parasitism in the animal world, see Parasitism.
Social parasite is a
derogatory term denoting a member of society who is considered to be detrimental to others, by taking advantage of them in some way.
Parasitic social classes
In various countries at various times, especially during periods of social unrest, such as the
French Revolution or
Russian Revolution, whole
social classes, such as the
aristocracy,
rentiers, or
bourgeoisie were accused of living off unearned income, and hence declared parasitic, as opposed to the
working class.
The text of
The Internationale, the famous
socialist song, later adopted as the hymn of the
Soviet Union (from 1917 to 1941), in a number of languages contains lines that refer to parasites. For example, the Russian text reads:
Лишь мы, работники всемирной
Великой армии труда!
Владеть землёй имеем право,
Но паразиты - никогда!
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Only we, the workers of the all-world
Great army of labor,
Have the right to own the land,
But parasites — never!
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Concepts of parasitic social classes are not limited to the
political Left. While the Left sees various kinds of
elites as parasitic, the theories of various
libertarian philosophers and
free market economists from the political Right, such as
Milton Friedman, have accused certain categories of unworking poor ("
freeriders" or "
freeloaders") of being social parasites; likewise, since the creation of
welfare states in the mid 20th century, some free market advocates have accused
welfare recipients of being parasites. This view is especially prevalent among the more economically liberal (for example free market) fringe of
American conservatives, who consider the "
welfare bum" to be the quintessential social parasite.
Soviet Union
In the
Soviet Union, which claimed to be a workers' state, every adult able-bodied person was obliged to work until official retirement. Thus
unemployment was officially eliminated; those who didn't work, study or serve, risked being criminally charged with
social parasitism (
Russian: тунея́дство) and declared an
enemy of the workers.
Charges of parasitism frequently applied to
dissidents and
refuseniks. Many of them were intellectuals. Since their writings were against the regime, the state prevented them from obtaining employment. To avoid trials for parasitism, many of them took unskilled (but not especially time-consuming) jobs (street sweepers, fire-keepers, etc.) which allowed them to continue their literary or research work.
The list of those arrested and charged with the crime of
social parasitism contains many notable names. Among them is the poet
Joseph Brodsky, who was sentenced in
1964 to five years of
banishment from
Leningrad into
Arkhangelsk Oblast. In
1987 he won the
Nobel Prize in Literature.
Nazi Germany
In
Nazi Germany, a
propaganda campaign was launched to portray the
mentally ill as parasites on society, as a part of the
racial hygiene doctrine. See
T-4 Euthanasia Program for more.
The Nazis also viewed
Jews and other groups as
subhuman or
untermensch, often describing them as, or comparing them to,
parasites,
rats, or other
vermin.
Japan
Parasite singles (パラサイトシングル, parasaito shinguru) is a
Japanese expression for people who live with their parents until their late twenties or early thirties in order to enjoy a carefree and comfortable life. The expression
parasitic singles is sometimes used also.
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