Productive forces

Productive forces, "productive powers" or "forces of production" is a central concept in Marxism and historical materialism. It refers to the combination of the means of production with human labour power. All those forces which are applied by people in the production process are encompassed by this concept, including those management and engineering functions technically indispensable for production (as contrasted with social control functions). Human knowledge can also be a productive force. Together with the social and technical relations of production, the productive forces constitute an historically specific mode of production.

Related Topics:
Marxism - Historical materialism - Means of production - Labour power - Knowledge - Relations of production - Mode of production

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~