Mode of production: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:36, 3 February 2021

The mode of production is a system of interrelations between people and nature, and between people, formed in the process of production, in the way of acquiring the material resources necessary for social life. It's the social way of obtaining the means of subsistence (food, clothing, housing, instruments of production, etc.), indispensable to be able to live and develop.

The mode of production is the dynamic unity of both the productive forces and the relations of production in the process of material production.

Throughout history, humanity has developed different modes of production, mainly:

Historical Modes of Production
Mode of production	Time of Origin	Relations of production
Primitive communism	Prehistory	There is no private property, small communities and tribes of hunter-gatherers use primitive tools, and everything is held in common.
Slavery	First civilizations	Slaves are coerced with threat of violence, their labor value is extracted to generate capital without compensation. The slaveowners keep the fruits of the slaves' labor.
Feudalism	Medieval period	Feudal landlords using political and legal power to extract surplus from serfs. Artisans and craftsmen engage in simple commodity production.
Capitalism	Renaissance	The sale of goods for profit leads to mass production and investment by financiers with a profit motive. Workers are coerced with the threat of homelessness or starvation to sell their labor on the market. Production for profit creates disequilibrium and leads to crisis.
Socialism	1920s	Collective industrial forces and agriculture are centrally planned by the workers' state, directing all economic activity towards meeting human need rather than profit.
Communism	Future	Post-scarcity society, characterized by the absence of class antagonism, money, and an abundance of material wealth available to all members of society. "From each according to their ability, to each according to their need"

While no country led by a communist party has achieved to

Considering we're currently in a historical stage of transition between capitalism and socialism, we haven't fully developed the socialist mode of production yet.

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 !Mode of production
 !Time of Origin
-!Productive forces
 !Relations of production
 |-
 |[[Primitive communism]]
 |Prehistory
-|Primitive tools, hunting and gathering
+|There is no private property, small communities and tribes of hunter-gatherers use primitive tools, and everything is held in common.
-|No private property, everything held in common by the community or tribe.
 |-
 |[[Slavery]]
 |First civilizations
-|
+|Slaves are coerced with threat of violence, their labor value is extracted to generate capital without compensation. The slaveowners keep the fruits of the slaves' labor.
-|Slaves are coerced with threat of violence, their labor value is extracted to generate capital. The slaveowners keep the fruits of the slaves' labor.
 |-
 |[[Feudalism]]
 |Medieval period
-|
 |Feudal landlords using political and legal power to extract surplus from serfs. Artisans and craftsmen engage in simple commodity production.
 |-
 |[[Capitalism]]
 |Renaissance
-|The sale of goods for profit eventually leads to mass production, the practice of investment by financiers with a profit motive and growth of the service sector.
+|The sale of goods for profit leads to mass production and investment by financiers with a profit motive. Workers are coerced with the threat of homelessness or starvation to sell their labor on the market. Production for profit creates disequilibrium and leads to crisis.
-|Workers are coerced with the threat of homelessness or starvation to sell their labor on the market. Production for profit creates disequilibrium and leads to crisis.
 |-
 |[[Socialism]]
-|1700s
+|1920s
-|Centrally planned industrial forces and collective agriculture
+|Collective industrial forces and agriculture are centrally planned by the workers' state, directing all economic activity towards meeting human need rather than profit.
-|The productive machinery is collectively held by the state, which is controlled by the working class, in order to direct economic activity towards meeting human need
 |-
 |[[Communism]]
 |Future
-|Post-scarcity, abundance of material wealth for all members of society
+|Post-scarcity society, characterized by the absence of class antagonism, money, and an abundance of material wealth available to all members of society. "From each according to their ability, to each according to their need"
-|"From each according to their ability, to each according to their need"
 |}
 While no country led by a communist party has achieved to
 Considering we're currently in a historical stage of transition between capitalism and socialism, we haven't fully developed the socialist mode of production yet.