Means of production is defined as the resources or tools that workers need to use in order to produce. This may include land, plants, machinery and equipment, tools, raw materials, and so on. The means of production is the sum of the raw materials and instruments of production in the production process. In the capitalist mode of production, the bourgeoisie owns the means of production even though the proletariat contributes to most of the work.
The means of production include:
- the natural resources (land, forests, water, subsoil, raw materials);
- the instruments of production, which allows the transformation of natural resources;
- the facilities necessary for the productive activity: industrial factories, mining facilities, etc.;
- the means of transport and also communication;
- the means of exchange between members of society: facilities necessary for distribution (warehouses, sales stores) and credit organizations (banks).