Means of labor
Encyclopedia
Means of labor is a concept in Marxist
political economy
that refers to "all those things with the aid of which man acts upon the subject of his labor, and transforms it." (Institute of Economics of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R.
, 1957) Means of labor include tools and machinery (the "instruments of production"), as well as buildings and land used for production purposes and infrastructure like roads and communications networks and so forth.
The means of labor are one of three basic factors of the production process (Marx, 1967, p 174), along with human labor, and the subject of labor
(the material worked on).
In some formulations, the means of labor and human labor (including the activity itself, as well as the skills and knowledge brought to the production process) comprise the productive forces
of society (e.g., Sheptulin, 1978), other formulations define productive forces
more narrowly as the union of instruments of production and the workers who wield them (e.g., Institute of Economics, 1957).
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
that refers to "all those things with the aid of which man acts upon the subject of his labor, and transforms it." (Institute of Economics of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R.
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
, 1957) Means of labor include tools and machinery (the "instruments of production"), as well as buildings and land used for production purposes and infrastructure like roads and communications networks and so forth.
The means of labor are one of three basic factors of the production process (Marx, 1967, p 174), along with human labor, and the subject of labor
Subject of labor
Subject of labor is a concept in Marxist political economy that refers to "everything to which man's labor is directed." The subject of labor may be materials provided directly by nature like timber or coal, or materials that have been modified by labor...
(the material worked on).
In some formulations, the means of labor and human labor (including the activity itself, as well as the skills and knowledge brought to the production process) comprise the productive forces
Productive forces
Productive forces, "productive powers" or "forces of production" [in German, Produktivkräfte] is a central idea in Marxism and historical materialism....
of society (e.g., Sheptulin, 1978), other formulations define productive forces
Productive forces
Productive forces, "productive powers" or "forces of production" [in German, Produktivkräfte] is a central idea in Marxism and historical materialism....
more narrowly as the union of instruments of production and the workers who wield them (e.g., Institute of Economics, 1957).