Mode of production: Organization of economic production in a given society.

It includes:

a. Means of production used by a given society, such as factories and other facilities,
machines, and raw materials.

b. Labor and the organization of the labor force.

Relations of production refer to the relationship between those who own the means of
production (the capitalists or bourgeoisie) and those who do not (the workers or the
proletariat).

According to Marx, history evolves through the interaction between the mode of
production and the relations of production. The mode of production constantly evolves
towards a realization of its full productive, but this evolution creates an antagonism
between the classes of people defined by the relations of production – owners and
workers.

Theory of Historical Materialism

“It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence but social existence
that determines their consciousness.” – Karl Marx

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  Also known as the Materialistic (Economic) Interpretation of History.

 This theory is derived from one of most fundamental principles in the philosophy of
Marx, namely Dialectical Materialism.

Difference between Dialectical Idealism (Hegel) and Dialectical Materialism

 Dialect literally means “Discussion”.

It is a study of contradictions which lie at the very heart of existence.

 Marx borrowed the general nature of dialect from Hegel. However, he did not agree
with Hegel’s Idealistic Interpretation that external reality was a mere reflection of
something within the human mind. He, instead, argued that material world has an
independent existence outside the mind. According to him, matter is primary and mind
is secondary. Material life a society depends upon securing the means of livelihood
and the way of producing material values.

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  Marx believed that dialectics should not deal with the mental world of ideas but
with "the material world", the world of production and other economic activities.

Application of Hegelian Dialect to interpret history– Thesis, Ant-thesis and Synthesis

 Hegel viewed history as a struggle of opposing forces which are always present in nature
and they constitute the moving force of history.

 The dominant idea of each age constituted a thesis.

 Every thesis contains an inherent contradiction or flaw, which thus gives rise to its
antithesis.

 The clash of thesis and anti-thesis resulted in the formation of a synthesis, which
incorporated the value elements of both thesis and anti-thesis.

 These opposing forces never balance each other and their constant confrontation keeps
the cycle of history moving.

Examples:

1. French Revolution (Monarchy = Thesis, Reign of Terror = Anti-Thesis, Stability with

recognition of Human Rights = Synthesis)

2. Master – Slave Dialect (Desire to be recognized as a Human Being with dignity drove men
into a bloody battle at the beginning of history = THESIS  Outcome = Division into Masters
(willing to risk their lives) and Slaves (gave in to natural death of fear)  Contradiction =
Failed to satisfy the desire of recognition = ANTI – THESIS  For slave = not recognized in
any way whatsoever  For Master = not recognized by masters but by slaves who humanity
was as yet incomplete  SYSTHESIS = After French Revolution  Universal and Reciprocal
Recognition

Application of Marxian Dialect to interpret History

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 Reference: His magnum opus “The Capital”

 Evolution is inevitable due to imbalance between opposing forces of thesis and anti-
thesis, but all evolution is the result of Economic Forces alone.

 Capital = Thesis, Labor = Anti-thesis, leading to Class Struggle.

Main Principles of Theory  Draw Table

1. Historical materialism springs from a fundamental underlying reality of human

existence: that in order for human beings to survive and continue existence from
generation to generation, it is necessary for them to produce and reproduce the
material requirements of life.

2. The organization and nature of every society is determined by its Mode of Production.
It consists of two things:

 Means of Production (Define the productive capacity of the society)

 Social relations of Production (how labor force is organized and how people engage
to carry out production and exchange).

3. These Social Relations are not arbitrary or random in nature  There is a division of
labor in which people not only do different jobs but, some people live off the fruits of
others' labor by owning the means of production (Tools, instruments, technology, land,
raw materials).

Relation between the Modes of Production and Social Structure

Historically, society has moved through a number of modes of production. In each of these
modes, people interact with each other and produce their living in different ways. Any surplus
from that production is also allotted in different ways.

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Modes of Production identified by Marx

1. Primitive/Tribal society (a prehistoric stage)

 Primitive Communism

 First & lowest form of organization of people, existed for thousands of years.

 Means of Production = Primitive tools like wooden sticks, stones, bows and arrows for
hunting and food gathering.

 Relations of Production = No Private Property  Collective Ownership of Means of

Production by the Community  Based on mutual assistance and co-operation.

 Exploitation of man by man did not exist because of two reasons  Firstly, the means of
production were so simple that they could be reproduced by anyone  No monopoly over
ownership  Secondly, production was at a very low scale  Smalls units, production was
just sufficient to meet the needs of the people provided everybody in the unit worked 
No Master, No Servant

2. Ancient society

 Gradual learning  Fire, domestication of animals and cultivation of land  Improvement

of tools  Surplus Production started taking place
 Led to private property  Social Inequality emerged  first antagonistic classes of Slaves
and Masters appeared  ANCIENT SOCIETY

 Means of Production = Bronze and Iron Tools, large scale agriculture, livestock raising,
mining and handicrafts
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 Relations of Production = Masters absolutely owned Means of Production, including the
slaves and everything they produced  Slaves were left with the bare minimum necessities
to keep them from dying of starvation

 Thus began the history of exploitation of Man by Man, and the history of Class Struggle.

3. Feudalism

 Class Conflict = Production demanded higher labor productivity but the slave had no
interest in this as it would not improve his position  Passage of time  class conflict
became acute and it was manifested in slave revolts  Together with the raids from the
neighbouring tribes led to a new stage i.e. Feudal system.

 Aristocratic landowners (barons) who exploited the mass of peasants.

 It was a combination of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished
between the 9th and 15th centuries.

 Progressive development of the productive forces continued

 Means of Production: Inanimate sources of energy, i.e. water and wind, complex
agricultural machines, crafts advanced further.

 Relations of Production: Based on feudal lord’s ownership of the serfs or landless peasants
 Exploitation of the serfs (an agricultural laborer bound by the feudal system
and tied to working on his lord's estate) by the feudal lords  Holding of land in
exchange for service or labor.

 More progressive than slavery system  The laborers were interested to some extent, in
their labor  The peasants could also own small parts of land.
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 4. Capitalism
 Changes due to new discoveries and advancement in technology  Increased demand for
consumption caused by population increase and discovery of new markets through
colonialism  Led to mass scale production  Brought the unorganized laborers at one
place, i.e. the factory.

 Capitalism is based on the capitalist class and the working class. The capitalist class
privately owns the means of production, distribution and exchange (factories, mines, shops
and banks) while the working class lives by selling its labor for wages.

 Large-scale machine production is the specific feature

 The proletariat is legally free, being attached neither to the land nor to any particular
factory. They are free in the sense that they can go to work for any capitalist, but they are
not free from the bourgeoisie class as a whole. Possessing no means of production, they
are compelled to sell their labor power.

5. Classless Communism

The mode of production is socialist which is based on social ownership of Means of

Production. All concepts of class, money and even state would cease to exist in this society.

Economic Base of Society – Economic Determinism

 The economic structure constitutes the basis on which social, political, religious, moral, and
other institutional frameworks (known as super-structure) are built. The “social
consciousness” which includes the thoughts, ideologies, and philosophies of the people, is
rooted in this institutional framework.

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 This superstructure not only has its origin in the economic base, but its features also
ultimately correspond to the character and development of that economic base, i.e. the
way people organize society is determined by the economic base.

 Society develops a particular outlook owning to the economic conditions.

 The mental attitude of people is the product of material conditions.

 Religious and moral codes are also determined by the same conditions.

Summary/Conclusion

1. The basis of human society is that how humans organize themselves to produce the
means of subsistence.

2. The system of class division is dependent on the mode of production.

3. Society moves from stage to stage when the dominant class is displaced by a new
emerging class that enforces the old relations of production to change. This takes place
in the superstructure of society (the political arena) in the form of a revolution,
whereby the underclass "liberates" the productive forces with new relations of
production.

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