Means of production

In political philosophy, the means of production refers to the generally necessary assets and resources that enable a society to engage in production.^[1] While the exact resources encompassed in the term may vary, it is widely agreed to include the classical factors of production (land, labour, and capital) as well as the general infrastructure and capital goods necessary to reproduce stable levels of productivity.^[2] It can also be used as an abbreviation of the "means of production and distribution" which additionally includes the logistical distribution and delivery of products, generally through distributors; or as an abbreviation of the "means of production, distribution, and exchange" which further includes the exchange of distributed products, generally to consumers.^[3]

The concept of "Means of Production" is used by researchers in various fields of study — including politics, economics, and sociology — to discuss, broadly, the relationship between anything that can have productive use, its ownership, and the constituent social parts needed to produce it.

^ Gould, Peter; Olsson, Gunnar, eds. (1977). A Search for Common Ground. London: Pion. p. 215. ISBN 9780850860931. Retrieved 8 April 2023. [...] Hindess and Hirst (1977, page 65) [...] define means of production as 'all the conditions necessary to the operation of a particular labour process which are combined in the units of production in which that process takes place' [...].
^ Edmundson, William A. (2020). "What Are "The Means of Production"?*". Journal of Political Philosophy. 28 (4): 422–423. doi:10.1111/jopp.12211. ISSN 1467-9760. S2CID 212948343. It takes the means of production to comprise anything that is or can be put to productive use... the means of production consist of anything that enables or could enable the extraction of surplus value (exploitation). Similarly, for Proudhon, goods not meant for immediate consumption, whose accumulation might introduce social inequality
^ Marx, Karl; Dobb, Maurice (1971). A contribution to the critique of political economy. London: Lawrence and Wishart. Archived at marxists.org

[1] Gould, Peter; Olsson, Gunnar, eds. (1977). A Search for Common Ground. London: Pion. p. 215. ISBN 9780850860931. Retrieved 8 April 2023. [...] Hindess and Hirst (1977, page 65) [...] define means of production as 'all the conditions necessary to the operation of a particular labour process which are combined in the units of production in which that process takes place' [...].

[2] Edmundson, William A. (2020). "What Are "The Means of Production"?*". Journal of Political Philosophy. 28 (4): 422–423. doi:10.1111/jopp.12211. ISSN 1467-9760. S2CID 212948343. It takes the means of production to comprise anything that is or can be put to productive use... the means of production consist of anything that enables or could enable the extraction of surplus value (exploitation). Similarly, for Proudhon, goods not meant for immediate consumption, whose accumulation might introduce social inequality

[3] Marx, Karl; Dobb, Maurice (1971). A contribution to the critique of political economy. London: Lawrence and Wishart. Archived at marxists.org

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