Social Formation and

UNIT 3 SOCIAL FORMATION AND Capitalist Mode of

Production
CAPITALIST MODE OF
PRODUCTION*
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Production
3.3 Forces of Production
3.4 Relations of Production
3.5 Modes of Production
3.6 Four Modes of Production
3.6.1 Asiatic Mode of production

3.6.2 Ancient Mode of Production

3.6.3 Feudal Mode of Producti on

3.6.4 Capitalist Mode of Production

3.7 Let Us Sum Up

3.8 References
3.9 Answer to Check Your Progress

3.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this Unit you should be able to
 explain each of the three concepts: forces of production, relations of
production and modes of production;
 distinguish the above concepts from one another; and
 locate these concepts in the overall Marxian view of society.

3.1 INTRODUCTION
In this Unit, we focus on three major concepts with which Marx constructed
the theory of historical materialism. The core concepts and related concepts
which this Unit attempts to explain are more or less like tools with which
Marx explained the notion of change in capitalist society in particular and that
of society in general. Using these concepts, Marx developed a theory aimed at
understanding contemporary He also formulated a programme of action to
change society. In order to expose you to the Marxian concepts in a

*
Adopted from IGNOU Course Material: Units 7 and 9 of Sociological Thought (ESO 13) with
modifications by Nita Mathur
31
Karl Marx systematic manner, this unit is broadly divided into four sections in the
following order:
First, section 3.2 provides a general understanding of the concept of
production.
Secondly, you learn in section 3.3 about the concept of forces of
production. This section attempts to provide the meaning and significance of
the concept.
Thirdly, you will learn in section 3.4 about the concept of relations of
production. The explanation emphasises the fact that these are social
relations and must not be confused with the material and technical aspects of
production.
Fourthly, you will learn in section 3.5 about the concept of modes of
production. In the last section that is section 3.6 we will discuss the four
modes of production.

3.2 THE CLASS STRUCTURE

People need food, clothing, shelter and other necessities of life in order to
survive. They cannot get all these things ready-made from nature. To survive,
they produce material goods from objects found in nature. Material production
has always been and still is the basis of human existence.
For Karl Marx, the history of human societies is the story of how people relate
to one another in their efforts to make a living. He said, “The first historical act
is…the production of material life itself. And indeed this is a historical act, a
fundamental condition of all history” (see Bottomore 1964: 60). According to
Marx, economic production or production of material life is the starting point
from which society as an inter-related whole is structured. He speaks of a
reciprocity between economic factors and other aspects of historical
development of mankind. The factor of economic production is all the same a
key concept in explaining the changes that occur in society. He considers that
forces of production along with relations of production form the basis of
economic and social history of every society. In his Introduction to the
Grundrisse (1857-58), Marx says that although the three processes of
production, distribution and consumption are not one and the same, they
represent a totality. It is so because after completion, each of the three
processes creates the other process. In this way, one mediates the other. For
example, production, once complete, becomes an object of consumption.
Similarly, distribution and production are closely related processes. In this
way, these economic categories carry definite relations between them. For
Marx, a certain type of production creates a certain type of distribution,
exchange and consumption. On the basis of all these economic categories are
formed certain types of relations of production. Marx argues that production
itself is based on other economic categories and clear-cut relation between
32
production and other economic processes. What is evident is that material Social Formation and
Capitalist Mode of
production is basic to human societies. Production

For Marx, production is both a general and a historical category. In Capital

(1861-1879) Marx has made use of the term ‘production’ as a general
category to highlight the specific forms of production in capitalist societies.
On the other hand, speaking about production with definite social and
historical characteristics, Marx discusses the concept of mode of production.
About this you will read in the last section of this unit.
Here, we need to remember that the role of production in human history
became a guiding thread in Marx’s writings. Let us follow this thread in order
to understand his thought. We begin with a consideration of forces of
production.

3.3 FORCES OF PRODUCTION

The forces of production express the degree to which human beings control
nature. The more advanced the productive forces are, greater is their control
over the nature and vice versa. You can say the forces of production are the
ways in which material goods are produced. They include the technological
know-how, the types of equipment in use and goods being produced for
example, tools, machinery, labour and the levels of technology are all
considered to be the forces of production.
The forces of production, according to Marx, include means of production and
labour power (see Box 3.1). The development of machinery, changes in the
labour process, the opening up of new sources of energy and the education of
the workers are included in the forces of production. In this sense science
and the related skills can be seen as part of the productive forces. Some
Marxists have even included geographical or ecological space as a productive
force.
Involuntary changes in technology, demography, ecology in ‘material life’
affect the mode of production itself and perceptibly alter the balance of
productive relations. But involuntary changes do not spontaneously
restructure or reorganise a mode of production. Any restructuring of
relations of power, forms of domination and of social organisation has been
mostly the outcome of struggles. The condition and character of the struggle are
determined by changes in material life.
In every social order there is a continuous change in the material forces of
production. Sometimes, as in tribal societies, this change is produced by some
natural and ecological phenomena, such as the drying up of rivers,
deforestation in or exhaustion of the soil etc. Usually, however, this change is
produced by a development in the instruments of production. Human beings
have always attempted to better their lives and overcome scarcity. The
development of forces of production reflects the constant struggle of human
beings to master nature through their labour.
33
Karl Marx The development of the forces of production is primary because it results from
a factor, which is, in a sense, exogenous. The motive force lies outside the forces
and relations of production and acts first upon the former. The motive force is
the rational and ever-present impulse of human beings to try to better their
situation and overcome scarcity by developing the productive forces. Human
beings are, above all, like animals producing society by acting upon nature
through their labour.
Productive forces transform nature into use values and exchange values. The
productive forces compel the creation and destruction of successive systems of
production relations between human beings.
Productive forces have an intrinsic tendency to develop, as human beings’
knowledge and mastery over nature increase. As these forces develop,
successive social relations of production develop and consequently give way.
At a particular point of development the productive forces and the production
relations enter into conflict: the latter being unstable to contain the former.
Society then enters a period of revolution. People become conscious of this by
recognising the existence of class struggle, between those whose activity fits
them for the new economic structure, and those who are guardians of the old.

Box 3.1 Labour Power

According to Marx, labour power is the capacity to do such useful work
which increases the value of products. Workers sell their labour power i.e.
their capacity to do work which adds value to commodities. They sell their
labour power to capitalists for a wage paid in cash.
We should distinguish labour power from labour. Labour is the actual
exercise of one’s power to add value to commodities. The category of
labour power is used by Marx to explain the source of surplus value. Let us
say that the capitalists invest money to buy goods and later sell them for
more money than they invested. This is possible only if some value is
added to those goods. Labour power, according to Marx, is precisely that
capacity which adds value to a commodity. In buying and using labour
power the capitalist is able to extract labour and labour is the source of
value. The source of surplus value in capitalist system of production is
located in the process whereby the value paid by capitalists for labour
power is smaller that the value which labour power adds to a commodity.

Different socio-economic organisations of production, which have

characterised human history, arise or fall as they enable or impede the
expansion of society’s productive capacity. The growth of the productive
forces thus explains the general course of human history. The productive
forces, however, include, as we have already noted, not just the means of
production (tools, machines, factories and so on), but labour power, the skills,
knowledge, experience, and other human faculties used in work. The
34
productive forces represent the powers society has at its command in material Social Formation and
Capitalist Mode of
production. Production

Check Your Progress 1

1) Which of the following cannot be conducted as a force of production?
a) Tractor
b) Labour Power
c) Steam engine
d) Windmill
e) Computer
f) Missile
2) Tick mark the correct statement.
With the increase of productive forces,
a) our mastery over nature increases.
b) we become enslaved to nature.
c) we becomes more conscious of nature.
d) we turn into a guardian of nature.
3) Tick mark the correct statement.
Material forces of production are
a) more or less stagnant.
b) continuously expanding.
c) moving towards scarcity.
d) potentially destructive.

3.4 RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION

The forces of production are not the only factors in material production.
People are able to produce jointly by organising in a society. In this sense,
labour is and always has been social in character. According to Marx, in
order to produce, people enter into definite relations with one another. Only
within these social relations does production take place. You can easily say
that the relations of production are the social relations found among the
people involved in the process of production. These social relations are
determined by the level and character of the development of productive forces.
‘Forces’ and ‘relations’ of production are strongly interrelated. The
development of one leads to a growing incompatibility or contradiction with
the other. In fact, the contradictions between the two aspects of production
‘act as the motor of history’ (Bottomore 1983: 178). The chain of causation in
historical development runs like this. The forces of production determine
35
Karl Marx the superstructure. There is, however, quite a good deal of controversy
regarding the primacy of the forces of production over the relations of
production. As we said earlier we shall not go into the detail of these
interpretations of Marxism. In Marx’s own writings, you may like to
remember, there is ambiguity on this matter. In places, he gives primacy to the
relations of production while in other places he describes forces of production
as the prime mover of social change.
The relations of production, which are said to correspond to society’s
productive level, link the productive forces and human beings in the process of
production. These relations are of two broad types. The first refers to those
technical relations that are necessary for the actual production process of
products. The second refers to the relations of economic control, which are
legally manifested as property ownership. They govern access to the forces of
production and products.
Relations of production are the social relations of production. As such they
include both the relations between the direct producers or workers and their
employers or those who control their labour, and the relations between the direct
producers themselves.
Relation of production is not merely the ownership of means of production. The
employer’s relation to the worker is one of domination and the worker’s relation
with co-workers is one of cooperation. The relations of production are relations
between people and people whereas means of production are relations between
people and things. The relations of production can influence the momentum
and direction of the development of the productive forces.
Relations of production are reflection in the economic ownership of
productive forces. For example, under capitalism the most fundamental of these
relations is the bourgeoisie’s ownership of means of production while the
proletariat owns only its labour power.
The relationships of production can also dominate and generate changes in
the forces. For example capitalist relations of production often do
revolutionize the instruments of production and the labour process.

Activity 1
Describe briefly in about 250 words the process of industrialisation in
India in terms of forces and relations of production. Discuss this topic with
your Academic Counsellor and fellow students at your study centre before
completing this activity.

At a certain stage of their development, the material productive forces of

society come into conflict with the existing relations of production. The
contradiction between forces and relations of production accounts for history
existing as a succession of modes of production. The contradiction leads to
36
the necessary decline of one mode and its replacement by another. Forces and Social Formation and
Capitalist Mode of
relations of production, in any mode of production underline not just the Production
economic progress, but a movement of the whole of society from one stage to
another. Let us in the next section discuss Marx’s concept of mode of
production.
Check Your Progress 2
1) Tick the correct answer
Relations of production primarily consist of
a) individual motives for acquisition in society.
b) asymmetrical exchange of goods in the market.
c) ideal material needs of humans in history.
d) differential requirements of classes in society.
e) social relationship arising out of the production process.
2) Tick the correct answer.
Relations of production constitute relationships between
a) things and things.
b) people and things.
c) people and people.
d) none of these.
3) Which of the following statements is correct?
a) Relations of production is not merely the ownership of means of
production.
b) Relation of production is not a human relationship at all.
c) Relation of production is not a cooperative relationship between
individuals.
d) Relation of production is essentially an exploitative relationship
between producers.
4) Which of the following statement is correct?
a) Relationship of production can also dominate and generate
changes in the forces of production.
b) Relationship of production have essentially no relationship to
forces of production.
c) Relationships of production can be at conflict with forces of
production.
d) Relationship of production can generate changes in forces of
production.
37
Karl Marx
3.5 MODES OF PRODUCTION
In Marx’s writing, stages of social history are differentiated not by what
human beings produce but by how, or by w h a t means, t he y produce the
material goods for subsistence. In this way, we can say that historical periods are
founded and differentiated on the basis of the modes of material production. In
other words, at the basis of history are successive modes of material
production. You can also say that the forces and relations of production are
two aspects of mode of production. The productive forces of society reflect the
degree to which human beings control nature. The more advanced the
productive forces, the greater is their control over nature. In order to produce,
people enter into definite relations with one another. This is the relations of
production aspect of how material goods are produced. Production takes
place within these social relations. You can say that any historical mode of
production is an integral unity between the forces of production and the
relations of production. You can also say that the forces of production shape
the relations of production and the two together define the mode of production.
That is the general economic frame or particular manner in which people
produce and distribute the means to sustain life. In this sense, the successive
modes of production are the basic element of a systematic description of
history.
Keeping aside the debate among the Marxist scholars concerning the
definition of ‘mode of production’, we can say that crucial element in defining
mode of production is ‘the way in which the surplus is produced and its use
controlled” (Bottomore 1983: 337). Surplus means the amount that remains
when use or need is satisfied. According to Marx, under capitalist mode of
production, the surplus takes the form of profit. Surplus is produced by
exploiting the working class and is sold for more than the wages given to the
workers. Because production of surplus enables societies to grow and change,
this factor is taken to be most important in defining mode of production.
Each mode of production has its specific relations of production. These are
not developed by chance or by accident. They are deliberately ordered because
they help the property owning class extract the surplus from the working
people. Take an example. The relations of production under feudalism, in
which the serf is dominated in all respects by the feudal lord, are necessary to
enable the feudal lord to appropriate the surplus from the serf. If such a
relationship is continued under capitalism it will fail. Therefore a new set of
production relations develops under capitalism that enables the capitalist
appropriate surplus value from the workers.
It should also be noted that neither the forces of production nor the relations of
production are fixed and static. Even within a given mode of production the
forces of production may change. In any society, we may find that over the
years greater production follows improvements in technology. The capitalist
38
nations are very different from what they were two to three hundred years ago, Social Formation and
Capitalist Mode of
when capitalism was born. This change in the productive forces has resulted in Production
changes in the relations of production. The workers in the twenty first century
may not be as exploited as the factory workers in the nineteen century. Marxists
would, however, argue that exploitation still remains, because the modern
workers, with modern technology, produce more surplus value than their
predecessors, and they do not proportionately earn that much more.
Check Your Progress 3
1) Tick mark the correct answer.
According to Marx, mode of production is
a) an empirical concept
b) a psychological phenomenon.
c) a biological fact
d) economic variable
e) an abstract construct
2) Which of the following statements is correct about the nature of
humans? It is
a) not immutable but historical
b) a manifestation of ecological factors
c) determined by psychological traits
d) an indeterminate unconscious state of mind
3) Which of the following can be appropriately called a mode of
production?
a) Pastoral
b) Agricultural
c) Feudal
d) Tribal
e) National

3.6 FOUR MODES OF PRODUCTION

More than one mode of production may exist within any particular society at a
given point in time. But in all forms of society there is one determinate kind of
production which assigns rank and influence to all the others. Here we
shall discuss each of the four modes of production, identified by Marx during
his studies of human societies.
3.6.1 Asiatic Mode of Production
The concept of Asiatic mode of production refers to a specific original mode
of production. This is distinct from the ancient slave mode of production or
39
Karl Marx the feudal mode of production.
The Asiatic mode of production is characteristic of primitive communities in
which ownership of land is communal. These communities are still partly
organised on the basis of kinship relations. State power, which expresses the
real of imaginary unity of these communities, controls the use of essential
economic resources, and directly appropriates part of the labour and
production of the community.
This mode of production constitutes one of the possible forms of transition from
classless to class societies; it is also perhaps the most ancient form of this
transition. It contains the contradiction of this transition, i.e. the combination
of communal relations of production with emerging forms of the exploiting
classes and of the State.
Marx did not leave behind any systematic presentation of the history of India.
He set down his observations on certain current Indian questions which
attracted public attention, or drew materials from India’s past and present
conditions to illustrate parts of his more general arguments. The concept of
Asiatic mode of production is therefore inadequate for an understanding of
Indian history and society.

Box 3.2 Marx and Indian Society

Marx made no full-scale study of Indian society. The ideology of Hinduism
was to him an ideology of an outdated social milieu. He was most skeptical
of a Hindu golden age of the bygone era. British rule in India was seen by
Marx as a graft on to Asiatic despotism.

3.6.2 Ancient Mode of Production

Ancient Mode of Production refers to the forms which precede capitalist
production. In some of these terms slavery is seen as the foundation of the
productive system. The relation of masters to slaves is considered as the very
essence of slavery. In this system of production the master has the right of
ownership over the slave and appropriates the products of the slave’s
labour. The slave is not allowed to reproduce. If we restrict ourselves to
agricultural slavery (see box 3.3), exploitation operates according to the
following modalities: the slaves work the master’s land and receive their
subsistence in return. The master’s profit is constituted by the difference
between what the slaves produce and what they consume. But what is usually
forgotten is that beyond this, the slaves are deprived of their own means of
reproduction. The reproduction of slavery depends on the capacity of the
society to acquire new slaves, that is, on an apparatus which is not directly
linked to the capacities of demographic reproduction of the enslaving
population. The rate of accumulation depends on the number of slaves
acquired, and not directly on their productivity.

40
 Slaves are different from the other members of the community in that they are Social Formation and
Capitalist Mode of
rightfully deprived of offspring. Their status as ‘foreigners’ is permanent. A Production
profit is made out of the ‘foreigner’.
Hence, if one wants the system to have a certain continuity and to become
organic, then one must not allow the slave to have dependents. In each
generation one must provide the means of introducing foreigners as
replacements for worn-out slaves. We find an intimate and necessary liaison
between these two levels of exploitation: a relation through pilfering between
one population and another, and a relation of exploitation between the class of
slaves and the class of masters.
In slavery, the growth of the labour force is independent of effective
demographic forces. It rests not on the demographic growth which is due to
natural increase, but on the means devoted to the capture (as in war) of
foreign individuals. The possibility of accumulation comes about through the
multiplication of slaves independently of growth in the productivity of labour.

Box 3.3 Agricultural Slavery

Slavery mode of production, which Marx referred to, was found in
Italy during formation of the Roman empire. Around 200 AD this
empire included western Asia, the whole of northern Africa from Egypt
to Morocco and most of Europe, including Britain. It had a territory of
about one million seventy five thousand square miles and a population of
about sixty million. Such a large empire was obviously a mixture of
heterogeneous societies with various modes to production. Only in
Roman Italy slavery on the land (agricultural slavery) assumed an
importance beyond anything experienced before. Also, in some of the
city-states. Such as Athens, slavery was a dominant mode production.
The ruling classes in these regimes acquired their wealth from slave
labour. In the western half of the Roman empire the production
transformed from ancient to feudal mode.

This mode of exploitation permits a demographic manipulation of society. It

permits the modification of the birth rate, the manipulation of the ‘age’ at
birth, and the manipulation of the duration of life, especially active life.
The test of the dominance of slave mode of production lies not in the numbers
of the slaves but in their location, that is, in the extent to which the elite
depend on them for their wealth.
3.6.3 Feudal Mode of Production
Marx and Engels were primarily interested in the definition of the capitalist
mode of production. Their writing about feudalism tended to mirror that
interest, as well as focusing on the transition between the feudal and the
capitalist modes of production. They were concerned with the ‘existence
form’ of labour and the manner in which the products of labour were

41
Karl Marx appropriated by ruling classes. Just as capitalists exploited the workers or the
‘proletariat’, so did the feudal lords exploit their tenants or ‘serfs’.
Capitalists grabbed surplus value and feudal lords appropriated land rent from
their serfs.
Serfs, being legally unfree, were deprived of property rights, though they
could use the lord’s property. They were obliged to surrender their labour, or
the product of their labour, over and above what was needed for family
subsistence and the simple reproduction of the peasant household economy.
Serfs or the producers were forced to fulfil the economic demands of an
overlord. These demands could be in the form of services to be performed.
These could also be in the form of dues to be paid in money or kind. The dues
or taxes were levied on the family holdings of the peasants. Thus feudal rent
whether in the form of services or taxes was an important component of
the feudal mode of production. The feudal lord was able to force serfs on the
basis of military strength. This power was also backed by the force of law. In
this mode of production, serfdom implied a direct relation between rulers and
servants. In feudal serfdom, the instruments of production were simple and
inexpensive.
Feudal society was seen by Marx and Engles as intermediate, i.e., between the
slave society of the ancient world and capitalists and proletarians in the modern
era.
The evolution of the feudal system brought about the development of exchange
of agricultural and manufactured products in regional markets. Special needs
of the ruling class and high ranking Church officials gave an impetus to the
growth of commodity production, including consumption goods such as silks,
spices, fruits and wines. Around this activity developed international trade
routes and mercantile centres. It laid the foundation for capitalist relations of
production, which were to become the main contradiction of the system and
cause its downfall. In the course of this transformation, many peasants were
expropriated from their lands and forced to become wage-labourers.

Activity 2
Do you think that agrarian society in any part of India was ever dominated by
feudal lords? If yes, describe in two pages how during this period peasants
were deprived of property rights though they had rights of use. Were the
peasants expected to give their labour or product of their labour to feudal lords?
Write your answers to these questions on a sheet of paper and compare them
with those of other students at your Study Centre.

3.6.4 Capitalist Mode of Production

Capitalism refers to a mode of production in which capital is the dominant
means of production. Capital can be in various forms. It can take the form of

42
money or credit for the purchase of labour power and materials of production. Social Formation and
Capitalist Mode of
It can be money or credit for buying physical machinery. In capitalist mode of Production
production, the private ownership of capital in its various forms is in the
hands of a class of capitalists. The ownership by capitalists is to the exclusion
of the mass of the population. You can take this to be a central feature of
capitalism as a mode of production.
As a mode of production, capitalism has the following characteristics
(see Bottomore 1983: 64).
 Goods are produced for sale rather than own use.
 The capacity to do useful work or labour power is bought and sold in
a market. For a period of time (time rate) or for a specified task (piece
rate) labour power is exchanged for money wages. In ancient mode
of production labourers were obliged or forced to surrender their labour.
Contrarily, in capitalist mode of production labourers enter into a
contract with employers.
The use of money as a medium of exchange. This gives an important role to
banks and financial intermediaries.
The production process is controlled by the capitalists or their managers.
Financial decisions are controlled by the capitalist entrepreneur. Individual
capitalists compete for control over the labour and finance. As a mode of
production, capitalism first emerged in Europe. The industrial revolution
starting in England and spreading across different countries saw a rapid
growth of technology and corresponding rise of capitalist economies. Marx
viewed capitalism as a historical phase, to be eventually replaced by
socialism.

Box 3.4 Capitalist Society

Based on private capitalist ownership the capitalist relations of production
facilitated tremendous growth of the productive forces. With this growth of
productive forces, capitalist relations of production ceased to correspond to
forces of production in feudal system. The most significant contradiction of the
capitalist mode of production is the contradiction between the social character
of production and the private capitalist form of appropriation. Production in
capitalist society bears a strikingly pronounced social character. Many
millions of workers are concentrated at large plants and take part in social
production, while the fruits of their labour are appropriated by a small group
of owners of the means of production. This is the basic economic contradiction
of capitalism. This contradiction or conflict of opposites gives rise to economic
crisis and unemployment, causes fierce class battles between the bourgeoisie
(the capitalists) and the proletariat (the working class), in other words,
quantitative changes. The working class would help bring about a socialist
revolution. This revolution would, according to Marx abolish the capitalist
production relations and usher in the new qualitative change i.e. the
43
Karl Marx communist socio-economic formation.
The new communist socio-economic formation, as we have seen earlier,
passes in its development through two phases, socialism and communism.
Socialism does away with private ownership of the means of production. It
establishes public ownership of means of production. In such a society the
proletariat will jointly own means of production and distribute the produce
according to the needs of people. This is the stage of dictatorship of proletariat,
which will later on also; do away with the state apparatus leading to a stateless
society. This stage of the stateless society will be possible in communism,
where the dialectic finally unfolds itself, ushering in a social system which
would be free of any contradictions within classes. According to the laws of
dialectics contradictions will remain as this is the basis of development. Under
communism there will be contradiction between Human Being and Nature, as
in Primitive-Communism. The basic difference now is that the level of
technology will be higher and Nature will be exploited more efficiently. Thus
we see how the three laws of dialectics operate in Marx’s interpretation of the
history of society (Unit 9, ESO 13).

Check Your Progress 4

1) Tick mark the correct answer.
In which mode of production is there communal ownership of land?
a) Asiatic
b) Ancient
c) Feudal
d) Capitalist
2) Tick mark the correct answer.
In which mode of production are the producers considered private
property?
a) Asiatic
b) ancient
c) feudal
d) capitalist
3) Tick mark the correct answer.
Under which mode of production is labour power bought and sold?
a) Asiatic
b) ancient
c) feudal
d) capitalist
44
 4) Tick mark the correct answer. Social Formation and
Capitalist Mode of
Production
In feudal mode of production surplus is expropriated through
a) Profit
b) rent
c) speculation
d) surplus value
e) trade

3.7 LET US SUM UP

The concepts of forces, relations and mode of production are central to
Marxist social theory. The mode of production, which for Marx is the main
determinant of social phenomena, is made up of the forces of production and
relations of production.
The forces of production refer to both the material worked on and the
tools and techniques employed in production of economic goods. The
relationships of production refer to the social relations arising in the process of
production, especially between the owners and non-owners of the means of
production. Relations of production include the control and the capacity to
possess the products.
Thus in capitalist societies, for example, the relations of production are those
relations that obtain between capitalist and worker such that the former
(relations of production) both controls t h e means of production and can
dispose of the goods and services that are produced by the worker.
The forces and relations of production are fundamental to the constitution of
any society. The different ways in which different societies are organised
depend upon the relationship of the forces of production to the relations of
production. The concept of the social relationships of production does not so
much refer to the relationship between individuals as between social classes.
Because the relationships of production are essentially antagonistic (for
example, the capitalist appropriates the product of labour of the worker), so are
the relations between the classes.
A mode of production is the relationship between the relations of production and
the forces of production. Modes of production can be distinguished from one
another by the different relationships between the forces and relations of
production. For example, in the feudal mode of production, the lord does
not possess direct control over the peasant’s forces of production, tools and
land, but does have control over the disposition of the peasant’s produce. In
the capitalist mode of production, on the other hand, the capitalist controls both
the forces of production and the disposition of the product.
Mode of production is an abstract analytical concept. In any particular society
at a particular point in time there may exist more than one mode of production.
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Karl Marx However, it is possible to identify a dominant or determinant mode of
production which gains primacy over all the other production systems.
Particularly during the period of social revolution more than one mode of
production co-exist in the same society. However, Marx has left behind the
theoretical conceptualisations relating to four modes of production;
Asiatic, ancient, feudal and capitalist. This last mode of production was
his major theoretical concern.

3.8 REFERENCES
Bottomore, Thomas B., 1975. Marxist Sociology. Macmillan: London
Huberman, Leo 1969. Man’s Worldly Goods. People’s Publishing House:
New Delhi
Indira Gandhi National Open University Course Material (2005),
Sociological Thought (ESO 13), IGNOU: New Delhi

3.9 SPECIMEN ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR

PROGRESS
Check Your Progress 1
1) (f)
2) (a)
3) (b)
Check Your Progress 2
1) (e)
2) (c)
3) (a)
4) (b)
Check Your Progress 3
1) (e)
2) (a)
3) (c)
Check Your Progress 4
1) (a)
2) (b)
3) (d)
4) (b)

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