Main Spheres of Social Life: The Material-Economic Sphere

Productive Forces and Production Relations

Material production possesses two dimensions: productive forces and production relations, each of which is an internally complex formation in its own right.

Within the structure of productive forces, the foremost element is the human being, who engages in the process of production and acts as the subject of labor. This individual constitutes the primary and decisive component of productive forces. However, for the production process to unfold, raw materials—objects of labor—are essential; these are the items upon which human activity is directed, extracted from nature through human labor. To manipulate these objects of labor for their transformation into necessary products, tools of labor are employed—everything that aids a person in translating their actions onto the object of labor, or what exists in the intermediary space between the individual and the object of labor. Additionally, certain working conditions are required, including facilities, storage, roads, transportation, and so forth. All of these, combined with the tools of labor, constitute the means of production. The system of means of production, primarily the tools of labor, forms the so-called material-technical base of society. This aspect embodies past, objectified labor, which, together with living human labor, constitutes the structure of productive forces.

Given the presence of these structural elements necessary for production, the latter is only viable through the skilled, qualified actions of individuals. The effective utilization of knowledge, experience, and skills can only be achieved through appropriate forms and methods of organization, management, and planning of production. Moreover, today, science increasingly integrates into the structure of productive forces, becoming a direct productive force itself, while production transforms into a technological application of science. At the current level of technical development, the qualification of workers can only be enhanced if they acquire a requisite level of scientific knowledge. This encompasses not only natural and technical sciences but also a broader range of scientific knowledge, including the humanities. This is logical, for the influence of the humanities—particularly legal studies—on the overall spiritual-moral and intellectual-creative potential is equally significant for social production.

Thus, the means of production created by society, along with individuals possessing knowledge and skills for labor, as well as the methods and forms of organization of production, together constitute the productive forces of society.

The productive forces of society have continually evolved and improved throughout the entire history of humanity. They always develop within specific social structures. The indicator of the level of development of productive forces is labor productivity, measured not solely by the quantity of production but also by its quality, and more profoundly—by the development and refinement of the human factor.

Production relations represent a complex structural-functional and hierarchically subordinate system of relationships established among the elements of productive forces during the production process. These relations encompass: 1) relations concerning the means of production, namely the form of ownership; 2) interactions among individuals in the processes of exchange, distribution, and consumption of the goods they create; 3) relationships shaped by individuals' production specializations, namely the division of labor; 4) relationships of cooperation and subordination—managerial relations, and so on. In contemporary production, the relationships arising from the selection and placement of personnel, considering their abilities, experiences, interests, and the needs of production itself, hold considerable significance.

The principal component of production relations is economic relations, which are fundamentally established regarding the means of production: these are always someone’s property, around which the entire system of human relationships is built. Economic relations (production, exchange, distribution, and consumption), forming the core of production relations, shape other social relations, serving in this capacity as a system-forming factor of society.

Production relations manifest objectively, existing independently of human consciousness and will, and impart a historically specific social quality to all social relations and society itself in their entirety. Consequently, production relations serve as an objective criterion for identifying various concrete-historical types of society, for it is through the category of production relations that one can capture the general, the lawful, the repetitive patterns present in the histories of diverse countries and peoples. This facilitates the understanding of the laws governing the historical development of society.

In the system of production relations, interactions between workers during the labor process are realized, reflecting their attitudes toward one another and toward their work, which are linked to the demands of organization and management of production and its technical support. This includes relations among workers of various specializations, organizers, and executors within a single production context, as well as inter-enterprise, inter-sectoral, and inter-regional relations, among others. All of these directly express the fundamental economic relationship—the relationship of ownership. The improvement of this relationship depends on the well-established functioning and sophistication of economic relations within the structure of production. When manifesting at the personal level, these relations are closely intertwined with the socio-domestic relationships of individuals, directly influencing the character of interpersonal communication and the interactions of individuals in production and other spheres of life, thus shaping the social-psychological and moral-ideological state of society’s members.

Productive forces and production relations are inseparable and, in their interrelation, constitute the "mode of production" as a specific unity that corresponds to the particular historical conditions of societal organization.

The Dialectic of Productive Forces and Production Relations. The unity of productive forces and production relations as a specific mode of production possesses the character of a mutually conditioned connection. Its mechanism is determined by the dialectical contradiction inherent to this unity, which can be understood as the dialectic of content and form.

The development of production occurs primarily within the system of productive forces. They represent the most dynamic element in material production, and their evolution is chiefly linked to the enhancement of labor means and the progress of technology. In this process, humanity itself evolves; human needs develop as a stimulating cause of production’s own advancement; the production experience of individuals increases, their qualifications rise, the division of labor becomes more differentiated, and specialization expands and deepens. These transformations within the structure of productive forces necessitate corresponding changes in human relations during production—the production relations. Thus, the progress of productive forces dictates the development of production relations in a manner that aligns the latter with the nature and level of productive forces' advancement: the content of productive forces defines the form of their existence.

Simultaneously, production relations do not function merely as passive elements in the material production system. They possess a relative autonomy, largely determined by the conscious actions of individuals. Indeed, production relations arise from deliberate human activity; however, they are formed consciously, yet not arbitrarily, depending instead on the social form that productive forces demand under certain conditions of social development. In this regard, one can speak of a certain influence of production relations on productive forces, manifested in two directions: when they correspond to the nature and level of productive forces, they accelerate their development; if they do not, they slow down or impede it. Herein lies the active role of production relations.

Thus, the correspondence of production relations to the nature and level of productive forces represents one of the key principles of the development of material production.

However, this development, like any other, is a contradictory process, and therefore production relations cannot constantly align with evolving productive forces. The process of material production unfolds in such a way that the achieved correspondence, resulting from the anticipatory development of productive forces at a certain stage, is disrupted; a contradiction re-emerges between them, which deepens over time, necessitating its resolution through revolutionary social change.

Consequently, the development of means to satisfy the ever-growing needs of individuals induces alterations in the methods of producing material goods. Each mode of production is characterized by a variety of fundamental forms of societal life, encompassing social, political, and spiritual aspects. All of these are closely interconnected, not only by their mutual influence but also by sharing a common foundation that dictates their evolution—material production. A specific form of material production determines, firstly, the corresponding structure of society, and secondly, the particular relationship of individuals to nature. The state system and the spiritual life of individuals are shaped by both of these factors, which in turn dictate the nature of spiritual production. Hence, the notion of "production" is not confined solely to material production but is viewed in a broader context—as the vital activity of society, as social production.

Thus, the mode of production is characterized not only by the production of material goods but also by the reproduction of human social existence and the formation and development of the individual. The category of mode of production possesses a clearly defined concrete-historical character, with its specific qualitative attributes unique to a particular stage of societal development. A change in the mode of production precipitates a transformation of the entire fabric of social life; this means shifts occur across social, political, and spiritual dimensions, and the social-class structure of society is altered. The management system transforms, old infrastructures and organizations disintegrate. Simultaneously, individuals' perspectives, consciousness, and psychology undergo change, leading to the emergence of new identities. In essence, a new form of human lifestyle emerges. Notably, such changes arise not only when one mode of production entirely replaces another, so to speak, during transitional stages in societal evolution but also within the very depths of any specific mode of production.