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 the productive forces and the relations of production in the process of material production.
| Mode of production | Time of Origin | Productive forces | Relations of production |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primitive communism | Prehistory | Hunter-gatherers' labor, primitive stone tools | In the small tribe or community, everyone works together for survival through foraging and hunting. There is no 'private property'. |
| Slavery | Early civilizations | Slave labor, metal tools, beasts of burden, handicraft | Through the social division of labor, society stratifies into classes, which leads to the creation of the state. The contradiction between slave-owners and slaves is primary, as slavery provides the cheapest form of surplus extraction. |
| Feudalism | Medieval period | Serf labor, craftsmen, more advanced metal tools, beasts of burden, handicrafts, small commodity production for exchange | The contradiction between landowner and peasant existed already in slave-based society, but it becomes the standard under feudalism. Landowners wield political and legal power to coerce surplus value from serfs working their land. Over the course of feudal history, a merchant class arises in towns, and craftsmen and artisans engage in simple commodity production, which eventually leads to the development of capitalism. |
| Capitalism | Renaissance | Wage labor, large-scale industry, large-scale agriculture, large-scale production of commodities for profit | As the merchant class gains dominance over the economy, the sale of goods for profit and further accumulation of profit leads to a system of mass production, investment by financiers and the creation of a . 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 | Labor, collectivised industry and agriculture, commodity production[1] | 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" |