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, some having the means of production while others were exploited by the former.

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

• Related article: "The 10 types of economy and their classification criteria"

What are the modes of production?

Before talking about what the types of production modes 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 this long ago. Marx used this concept to refer to the specific organization of the economic production of a society, the same definition that he has today. Thanks to this concept, Marxism was developing a classification of the forms and types of economies that have existed throughout history on the basis of both the mode of production itself and the relationship between the different hierarchical levels of society: the lessons.

The type of mode of production of a society determines the conditions of life of the same, influencing both their social and political life 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 Marxists structuralists.

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: the productive forces and the relations of production.

Production relationships

The 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 great company presidents or factory owners, while those who do not own them are the proletariat.

The relations of production determine the social relations and are defined mainly in terms of social classes. These interactions are usually legally established, backed 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 not very efficient, it is expected that the services and products that are 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 human beings to 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 certain point 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 violent The change within the system implies transitioning to a new one in which it may well be that those who were previously exploited are now the exploiters.

Once a new mode of production has been established, it is not saved from the fate of the previous one. This is developing without stopping, seeking to reach its maximum productive capacity. However, as it develops, discrepancies appear between the social classes determined by the relations of production. This causes tension to return and, if an agreement between owners and workers is not reached, the system shakes again and a change occurs again.

Main types of modes of production

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

1. Primitive communism

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

Although the people of the tribe could have some other personal possession, such as rudimentary garments or trousseau, all the properties of the tribe were defended by the entire community and the idea of ​​private property did not exist as the we know. There could be a bit of agriculture, but in the beginning the crops were everyone's job.

However, this changed with the emergence 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 properties. These were not going to allow others to benefit from what they had gained with their effort, thus that they only shared it with others through exchanges or by having them work for they.

Thus, although at the beginning the human being 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 it was changing to a subsistence system that, although in a very primitive way, had social classes and basic hierarchies socioeconomic. It is what can be seen in current tribal cultures that practice agriculture and branch.

2. Asian production mode

The Asian mode of production can be considered as the first form of a society with clearly delimited 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. Most of the population was forced to do forced labor for the benefit of a small group of owners.

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

3. Slave production mode

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 those who possessed 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 enjoying a life full of luxury. Slaves were not paid 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 the productive forces after the European classical period. Mills, heavy-wheel plows and other innovations were introduced in the Middle Ages that made the field much more productive.. Agricultural and Ramadera productivity skyrocketed, although it did not prevent many people from starving due to the inability to distribute food among all.

The 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 the 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 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 many centuries later to the capitalism.

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 the interactions commercial. There were also serfs who, although not properly speaking slaves, belonged to the lands of their lord, they 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 had 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. The products are manufactured in factories and workshops to be sold in the market and, in order to be competitive in a world in The one that everyone offers his products, the capitalist manages so that his workers produce more at the least cost.

In the capitalist world, workers demand and receive a salary for their services, something that was not the case in earlier periods of history. Both in the slave system and in 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 nor save money.

However, that in capitalist society you have a salary 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 to work.

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

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 should be the owners and the non-owners, but to create a society in which the ownership of the means of production outside 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 and based on the ideas of Karl Marx, inspired by the primitive communist mode of production. In this system private property organization 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 the productive forces and the increase of social production.

In principle, the contradictions that might 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.

Bibliographic references:

• Macedo, Juan José Avila (2003). Economy (Updated ed. edition). Guadalajara, Jal.: Threshold. p. 58. ISBN 9789709319125.
• Bajoit, Guy. (2014). Class relations and modes of production: theory and analysis. Culture and social representations, 9 (17), 9-53. http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php? script = sci_arttext & pid = S2007-81102014000200001 & lng = es & tlng = es.