The 6 Types of Production Modes

Throughout history there have been different economic systems that have implied a particular social order. Most of them have had in common that they were organized into classes, with some owning the means of production while others were exploited by the former.

There are several types of modes of production in force throughout history, from the first groups of human beings to the present day. Next We will talk about what are the types of modes of production that there is and we will detail in depth this idea typical of the thought of Karl Marx.

What are the modes of production?

Before talking about what the types of modes of production are, we must first understand what they are. The modes of production refer to the way in which economic activities are organized in a given territory, civilization, culture or period of history That is, they are the ways in which an economy produces goods and services, in addition to establishing their distribution.

The concept of modes of production has its origins in Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, although Adam Smith had already suggested it some time ago. Marx used this concept to refer to the specific organization of the economic production of a society, the same definition he has today. Thanks to this concept, Marxism developed a classification of the forms and types of economies that have existed throughout history based on both the mode of production itself and the relationship between the different hierarchical levels of society: classes .

The type of mode of production of a society determines its living conditions, influencing both their social and political lives and even their well-being. Depending on the current mode of production, the state can enable different institutions that perpetuate and benefit from the type of economic structure that governs society, which is why they have been of such interest to structuralist Marxists.

According to the writings of Karl Marx in which he explains his theory of historical materialism, a mode of production results from the combination of two main factors: productive forces and production relations.

Production relations

Production relations are the relationship between those who own the means of production and those who do not For example, in the framework of a capitalist society, those who have the means of production are the capitalists, such as large company presidents or factory owners, while those who do not own them are the proletariat.

Production relations determine social relations and are defined mainly in terms of social classes. These interactions are usually established legally, endorsed by the ideology of whoever owns the means of production.

productive forces

The productive forces define the labor process in which raw materials are converted into manufactured products These forces are affected by the availability of raw materials and what means of production are available. If there is a shortage of materials or the means are inefficient, it is expected that the services and products produced with them will be rare and very expensive.

Why have there been different modes of production throughout history?

Marx used the idea of ​​modes of production as a classification tool to describe and distinguish, based on historical criteria, the different economic systems that have existed from the first hunter-gatherer humans until their time, the 19th century. Different dynamics throughout history have made those who own the media and those who produce different people.

The dynamics are usually always the same. At a given moment in history, a mode of production begins to falter because those who are exploited by those who own the means rebel, acquire new rights or change the social structure peacefully or violently. Change within the system implies transitioning to a new one in which it can perfectly happen that those who were previously exploited are now the exploiters.

Once a new mode of production is established, it is not saved from the fate of the previous one. It is developing non-stop, seeking to reach its maximum productive capacity. However, As it develops, discrepancies appear between social classes determined by production relations This causes tension again and, if an agreement is not reached between owners and workers, the system shakes again and a change occurs again.

Main types of production modes

Based on the type of relationship between owners and workers and how society is organized, we can say that there have been six main types of production modes throughout history.

1. Primitive communism

Primitive communism was the mode of production in prehistory and, in theory, is still valid in current hunter-gatherer societies. In its origins, This system had gathering and hunting as its main production method and everything achieved was considered the common property of all members of the tribe.

Although the people of the tribe could have some personal possessions, such as rudimentary items of clothing or trousseau, all the properties of the tribe were defended by the entire community and the idea of ​​private property did not exist as we know it. There could be a little agriculture, but at first the crops were everyone’s job.

However, this changed with the appearance and improvement of agriculture and livestock Those who had better luck and obtained better crops or animals that gave more meat, milk and skins had an advantageous position with respect to the rest of the tribe, having more property. They were not going to allow others to benefit from what they had earned with their efforts, so they only shared it with others through exchanges or by having them work for them.

Thus, although at the beginning human beings lived in a kind of communist utopia in which everything belonged to everyone, with the appearance of private property and the improvement of production, little by little they changed to a subsistence system. which, although in a very primitive form, had social classes and hierarchies based on a socioeconomic basis. This is what can be seen in current tribal cultures that practice agriculture and branch trade.

2. Asian mode of production

The Asian mode of production can be considered the first form of a society with clearly demarcated classes. It was characterized by the total absence of private ownership of the land, not allowing ranchers or ranchers to exploit it freely, and by a centralized despotic state who was in charge of public works. The majority of the population was forced to do forced labor for the benefit of a small group of owners.

The state obtained the economic surplus produced by the communities in the form of taxes and invested it to finance public infrastructure. To appropriate these surpluses, they used coercion, forcing, through the armed forces, that ranchers and farmers give away the fruits of their labor without having the right to complain.

3. Slave mode of production

The slave mode of production arose thanks to the growth of the production forces of societies, the appearance of surplus products, the appearance and application of the concept of private property in the means of production and land, and the appropriation of the surplus product by of those who owned means of production. We have a classic example of this mode of production in the Greco-Latin world

The division of labor was achieved through the use of coins, the creation of better iron tools, and the perfection of the alphabet. The owners, who were the aristocratic class, had slaves to run their businesses while they enjoyed a life full of luxury. Slaves did not receive a salary for their work, they were simply given just enough to live on and, if they complained, they were punished or executed.

4. Feudal mode of production

The feudal mode of production could be applied thanks to a considerable development of productive forces after the European classical period. In the Middle Ages, mills, heavy wheel plows and other innovations were introduced that helped make the countryside much more productive Agricultural and branch productivity skyrocketed, although it did not prevent many people from dying of hunger due to the impossibility of distributing food among everyone.

Cities grew and carried out activities that could not be done in the countryside. Thus, it was a historic moment for the Western world, since for the first time the relations of production in cities differed from those in the rural world. Medieval towns and cities specialized in different activities, some producing food and the other manufacturing.

The dynamics between city-country social relations motivated the emergence and development of better commercial relations The cities had to receive food and minerals, while the towns required tools to better exploit the countryside and the mines. This type of interaction, in which towns offered raw materials and cities transformed them into manufactured goods and services, is considered the antecedent that would give way to capitalism many centuries later.

Although the main social classes in the Middle Ages were three (plebs, clergy and nobility), it could be said that a fourth developed, the merchant class, people who benefited from commercial interactions. There were also serfs who, although they were not slaves per se, belonged to their master’s lands, were not free and had to pay to exploit the resources of the place where they lived, without the possibility of leaving the place where they were born.

5. Capitalist mode of production

The key figure of the capitalist mode of production is, as its name indicates, the capitalist, the one who holds the means of production Products are manufactured in factories and workshops to be sold on the market and, in order to be competitive in a world in which everyone offers their products, the capitalist manages to make his workers produce more at the lowest cost.

In the capitalist world, workers demand and receive a salary for their services, something that was not the case in previous periods of history. In both the slave system and the feudal system, work was done because the owner of the means of production gave the order, obtaining in exchange just enough to be able to continue living, not having the possibility of ascending in the social hierarchy or saving.

However, having a salary in capitalist society does not mean that you will prosper. Marx warned that, in the eyes of the capitalist, things and people exist only because they are profitable and paying workers a salary is a way of getting them to continue working for him without rebelling, ensuring that they receive just enough money so that they do not complain but not too much so that they save and can live without working.

However, with the passage of time and based on Marxist theses, workers began to realize that their true economic benefit lies in preventing the capitalist from exploiting them, asking for better wages and working conditions. In case their demands are not resolved, it is best to go on strike, since if the workforce stops working, it does not matter how many means the capitalist has since he has no one to keep production active.

The relations between the proletariat and capitalists were hostile, being reflected in Marx’s idea of ​​class struggle, which was to lead to the overthrow of capitalism by the workers. The idea was not to change who the owners and non-owners should be, but to create a society in which ownership of the means of production belonged to everyone, a collective property that would give rise to a communist society.

6. Communist mode of production

The communist or socialist mode of production is a utopian mode of production based on the ideas of Karl Marx, inspired by the primitive communist mode of production. In this system the organization of private ownership of the means of production is rejected, making the tools to produce goods and services public property. According to Marxism, this would allow the unlimited improvement of productive forces and the increase of social production.

In principle, the contradictions that could arise in the communist mode of production between the productive forces and the relations of production would not be adverse. Such contradictions would be resolved through a better production relationship, which would be achieved through better management of social processes.