mode of production

Definition of Mode of Production

(noun) According to Karl Marx (1818–1883), a combination of the means of production and relations of production.

Mode of Production Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: mode of pro·duc·tion

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /moʊd ʌv prəˈdʌkʃən/
• British English – /məʊd ɒv prəˈdʌkʃən/

Usage Note

• Plural: modes of production

Related Quotation

• “What are social classes in Marxist theory? They are groups of social agents, of men defined principally but not exclusively by their place in the production process, i.e. by their place in the economic sphere. The economic place of the social agents has a principal role in determining social classes. But from that we cannot conclude that this economic place is sufficient to determine social classes. Marxism states that the economic does indeed have the determinant role in a mode of production or a social formation; but the political and the ideological (the superstructure) also have an important role. For whenever Marx, Engels, Lenin and Mao analyse social classes, far from limiting themselves to the economic criteria alone, they make explicit reference to political and ideological criteria. We can thus say that a social class is defined by its place in the ensemble of social practices, i.e. by its place in the ensemble of the division of labour which includes political and ideological relations. This place corresponds to the structural determination of classes, i.e. the manner in which determination by the structure (relations of production, politico-ideological domination/subordination) operates on class practices – for classes have existence only in the class struggle” (Poulantzas 1973:27).

Related Videos

Additional Information

• Word origin of “mode” and “production” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
• Heilbroner, Robert L. 1980. Marxism: For and Against. New York: Norton.
• Sowell, Thomas. 1985. Marxism: Philosophy and Economics. New York: Morrow.

Related Terms

• capitalism
• class
• communism
• culture
• democracy
• economics
• economy
• means of production
• relations to production

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Reference

Poulantzas, Nicos. 1973. “On Social Classes.” New Left Review 78.

Works Consulted

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Dillon, Michele. 2014. Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theorists, Concepts, and their Applicability to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd ed. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Macionis, John, and Kenneth Plummer. 2012. Sociology: A Global Introduction. 4th ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.

Marsh, Ian, and Mike Keating, eds. 2006. Sociology: Making Sense of Society. 3rd ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Stewart, Paul, and Johan Zaaiman. 2015. Sociology: A Concise South African Introduction. Cape Town: Juta.

Thorpe, Christopher, Chris Yuill, Mitchell Hobbs, Sarah Tomley, and Marcus Weeks. 2015. The Sociology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained. London: Dorling Kindersley.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Cite the Definition of Mode of Production

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “mode of production.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved September 17, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/mode-of-production/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

mode of production. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/mode-of-production/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “mode of production.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed September 17, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/mode-of-production/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“mode of production.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 17 Sep. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/mode-of-production/>.