Zhang Lin and Fu Guowei: Triple Perspectives on Marx and Engels' Concept of Productive Forces
Productive forces constitute one of the core concepts running through Marxist political economy, historical materialism, and scientific socialism. However, within the texts of Marx and Engels, "it is difficult even to find a definitive statement on the concept of 'productive forces.' The reason for this lies in the fact that Marx and Engels' terminology was not actually fixed with identity." Consequently, it is necessary to return to the texts and the ideological horizon of Marx and Engels to conduct a concrete investigation into the usage and meaning of the concept of productive forces within specific contexts. The concept of productive forces in Marx and Engels is not an abstract category; rather, it is a theoretical grasping of actual material productive activities and a vehicle for the narration of thought. Analysis of productive forces from the perspective of political economy exposes capitalist contradictions through facts and logic; analysis from the perspective of historical materialism provides a tool for understanding the world; and analysis from the perspective of scientific socialism points the way toward transforming the world. These three horizons and contexts of productive force analysis are unified in the Marxist mission of interpreting and changing the world. Conducting a directorate-scientific analysis of them can provide a new vista for deepening our understanding of productive forces. Marx and Engels' thoughts—regarding the factors influencing the productivity of labor, the conditions for the emergence and development of new productive forces, the social nature of productive forces, and the idea that revolution is the only possible way to liberate social productive forces—offer important practical insights for developing new quality productive forces.
I. Analysis of "Productivity of Labor" and "Productivity of Capital" Within the Perspective of Political Economy
"Productivity of labor" is a fundamental concept of Marxist political economy. Volume I of Capital provides a brief explanation of productive force: "Productive force is, of course, always the productive force of useful, concrete labor. It in fact manifests only the efficiency of purposeful productive activity within a given period of time." In a concrete and realistic sense, Marx regarded "productivity of labor" as a synonym for productive forces, measuring the level of labor productivity by the quantity of products created by a unit of labor within a unit of time.
Productivity of labor is an important concept used by Marx when elucidating the theory of labor value and the theory of surplus value. Building on the clarification that the substance of value is labor, Marx further determined that the amount of labor congealed in a commodity—that is, the value of the commodity—is measured by the standard of labor-time. He expounded on the law-governed relationship between the productivity of labor and the magnitude of commodity value: "The value of a commodity varies directly as the quantity, and inversely as the productivity, of the labor realized in the commodity." The labor-time required to produce a unit of commodity is inversely proportional to the productivity of labor. As the natural and social conditions of labor improve, the productivity of labor is enhanced, the necessary labor-time [1] required to produce a unit of commodity decreases, and the unit value of the commodity becomes lower. In the Economic Manuscripts of 1857–1858 (the Grundrisse), Marx used the concept of labor productivity to reveal the productive conditions for the valorization of capital: "The development of the productivity of labor—firstly the creation of surplus labor—is the necessary condition for the increase of the value of capital or the valorization of capital." As the productivity of labor develops to a certain level, the efficiency of labor in creating value increases, and necessary labor-time gradually decreases, making surplus labor and surplus labor-time possible, and the production of surplus value a reality.
Engels was among the earliest in the history of Marxist thought to expound on the important role of science and capital in driving the improvement of labor productivity. In his Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy, he proposed: "The productive force at the disposal of mankind is immeasurable. The application of capital, labor, and science can increase the productive capacity of the soil infinitely." Marx clarified that the reason capital drives the improvement of labor productivity is the drive of capital's innate nature for valorization. He pointed out: "The tendency of capital is, in order to increase relative surplus time, necessarily to raise the productive forces to the limit." Capital is a relation of production conditioned by a certain level of development of productive forces; an important prerequisite for the valorization and accumulation of capital is the development of the productivity of labor. To realize the valorization of capital and extract as much surplus value as possible, individual capitalists improve labor productivity within their own sectors by means of improving production technology and optimizing the organization and management of production. This objectively drives the improvement of productive forces across the whole of society. In the Economic Manuscripts of 1861–1863, Marx proposed that the three primary forms of increasing the productivity of labor are: "cooperation, the division of labor, and the application of machinery or the power of science." Cooperation refers to productive activities where many workers perform the same operation in the same space to produce the same product, exerting a productive force that is impossible for isolated workers to achieve. The division of labor involves many workers producing different parts of the same product under the rule or command of the same capital, allowing for the full utilization of the specific talents and skills of different laborers to improve productive efficiency. Machinery, as the application of science in production, is the key intermediary that transforms the potential productive forces inherent in science into actual productive forces.
Marx revealed the phenomenon and reasons why, under capitalist conditions, the productivity of labor manifests as the "productivity of capital," and he critiqued the alienation [2] of productive forces from the workers in capitalist society. Labor is the actual creative subject of social productive capacity. Under capitalist conditions, "capital itself appears as the subject of all social productive capacities," and capital becomes the factual occupying subject of social productive capacity. The "productivity of capital" derives from the rule over "living labor" and the appropriation of the productivity of labor; it is the specific form of expression of labor productivity under capitalist conditions, reflecting the alienated relationship between productive forces and workers. Due to this alienation, all development of labor productivity in capitalist society "does not enrich the worker, but only capital; that is, it only increases the power that dominates labor; it only increases the productivity of capital." Starting from "exchange," Marx revealed the logical chain by which labor productivity becomes the "productivity of capital": "The capitalist exchanges for labor itself; this labor is value-creating activity, productive labor; that is, the capitalist exchanges for a productive force that enables capital to be preserved and multiplied, and which thus becomes the productive and reproductive power of capital, a power belonging to capital itself." Under conditions of private capitalist ownership, when the capitalist uses money to purchase the commodity of labor-power, they simultaneously acquire the right to appropriate the productivity of labor. By virtue of their ownership of labor-power and the means of production, the capitalist appropriates the worker and everything created by their labor, including both the product of labor and the productive forces created by labor. Therefore, the transformation of labor productivity into the "productivity of capital" originates in the process of exchange, is realized in the process of production, and is prominently reflected in the results of production.
II. Analysis of "Sum of Productive Forces" and "Productive Force Basis" Within the Perspective of Historical Materialism
The concept of productive forces grasped by Marx and Engels in their studies of political economy provided a "key" for their discovery of the "materialist conception" of social-historical development. Furthermore, within the context of the materialist conception of history, they proposed that the "sum of productive forces" constitutes the basis of human history, elucidated the laws of contradiction between productive forces and relations of production, and addressed the "productive force basis" for judging social revolution.
Marx and Engels argued that the "sum of productive forces" determines social relations and social conditions. Different stages of history defined by their productive forces, and the varying social conditions determined thereby, constitute human history, thus grounding the foundation of human history upon the objective material power of productive forces. In The German Ideology, Marx and Engels proposed: "The mode of cooperation itself is a 'productive force'; it follows from this that the sum of productive forces accessible to men determines the condition of society." In this context, "common activity" mainly refers to human productive activity, and the "mode of common activity" is the mode of production. While developing material productive forces through common activity, people also create their own social relations; the manifestation of social relations within production is the relations of production. A change in the mode of production signifies a change in the relations between people in production, which in turn generates different social relations and different social conditions. "At each stage of history there is found a material result: a sum of productive forces, a historically created relation of individuals to nature and to one another." Therefore, in a certain sense, human history is the history of the development of the productive forces achieved by mankind and the history of the development of social relations associated with those productive forces. The materialist conception of history attributes changes in the mode of production to the development of productive forces, highlighting the decisive significance of productive forces for relations of production and the foundational position of productive forces within the mode of production. It further takes the "sum of productive forces" as the determining factor of social conditions, clarifying the foundational and generative significance of productive forces for human history.
Marx used the contradiction between productive forces and relations of production to elucidate the "productive force basis" for judging social revolution, surpassing the idealist conception of history on the question of how to judge social change. Productive forces and relations of production are two inseparable aspects of the same activity. The development of productive forces drives changes in relations of production, while specific relations of production constitute the "space for development" of productive forces. The idealist conception of history fails to understand actual individuals and their material productive activities; consequently, it cannot understand that the fundamental driving force of social-historical development is the development of material productive forces. It cannot understand that the replacement of social formations is the transformation of relations of production and the superstructure on the basis of the development of productive forces. Starting from ideas and spirit to explain history, it views historical development as a "history of the spirit." Marx proposed that social change must be "explained from the existing conflict between the social productive forces and the relations of production." The materialist conception of history explains history starting from actual individuals and their material productive activities, taking the contradiction between productive forces and relations of production in material life as the basis for judging social change, thereby understanding historical development as a "natural history" of the transformation of modes of production based on the development of productive forces.
The "productive force basis" for judging social revolution possesses both qualitative and quantitative stipulations. On the one hand, the qualitative stipulation of the "productive force basis" demonstrates the necessity of social revolution. As relations of production "turn from forms of development of the productive forces into their fetters [3], then begins an era of social revolution." Productive forces are the "active" factor driving social revolution; their development to a certain degree is the prerequisite for social revolution. When existing relations of production can no longer accommodate the development of productive forces, "the only possible way out is to carry out a social revolution, to liberate the social productive forces from the fetters of an obsolete social system." While the capitalist mode of production drives the development of productive forces, it also intensifies class antagonisms and economic crises in capitalist society, exposing the contradiction between the capitalist social system and social productive forces. To resolve this contradiction, it is necessary to break the old relations of production and their manifestations in the social structure, overthrow the capitalist relations of production and superstructure that hinder the development of productive forces, and then create new relations of production and social structures that adapt to the level and requirements of the development of productive forces, thereby achieving a revolutionary transformation of the social system. On the other hand, the quantitative stipulation of the "productive force basis" demonstrates the conditionality of social revolution. "No social order is ever destroyed before all the productive forces for which it is sufficient have been developed; and new superior relations of production never replace older ones before the material conditions for their existence have matured within the framework of the old society." In this context, the word "all" indicates that there is a "quantitative limit" to the productive forces that a social formation can accommodate. In other words, social revolution has "quantitative requirements" for the level of development of productive forces; when the "quantitative change" of social productive forces has not reached a specific degree, social revolution will not occur. In summary, social revolution is the result of the contradictory movement between productive forces and relations of production, playing an important role in promoting the liberation and development of productive forces. The development of productive forces creates the material prerequisites and foundation for a comprehensive social revolution.
III. Analysis of "New Productive Forces" and the "Social Nature of Productive Forces" Within the Perspective of Scientific Socialism
The scientific elucidation of the concept of productive forces served as an important ideological foundation for Marx's "two great discoveries" [4] and established the theoretical premise for Marx and Engels to expound the general principles of scientific socialism. Within the context of scientific socialism, Marx and Engels proposed the concept of "new productive forces," elucidated the conditions for their emergence and development, and clarified the social nature of productive forces.
Marx and Engels distinguished between the quantity and quality of productive forces, arguing that new productive forces arise within previous modes of production. To preserve and further develop these new productive forces, a new mode of production compatible with them must be established. In The German Ideology, Marx and Engels proposed:
"Any new productive force, provided it is not a mere quantitative extension of those already known (for instance, the cultivation of new land), brings about a further development of the division of labor." Here, "mere quantity" implies the existence of qualitative differences in productive forces; "new productive forces" encompass both quantitative expansion and qualitative leaps. "Growth of productive forces, quantity and quality" was a brief note written by Marx in the "Draft Plan of the Chapter on Capital" in the Economic Manuscripts of 1859–1861. Although specific elaborations on the quality of productive forces are absent from existing texts, this note proves that he had at least conceptually distinguished between the quality and quantity of productive forces. "New productive forces and relations of production... develop within the existing process of production and within inherited, traditional relations of ownership, and in opposition to them." New productive forces and relations of production emerge from within previous modes of production—that is, within the contradictory unity of past relations of production and productive forces. The new contradictory unity formed by the two then sublate [5] and transcend the previous mode of production; this is the dialectic of the development of productive forces. "Only by adopting a new mode of production corresponding to the present stage of development of the productive forces can the new productive forces themselves be preserved and further developed." When capitalist relations of production can no longer contain the development of productive forces, in order to preserve all existing productive forces of human society, it becomes necessary through revolution to transfer these forces into the hands of the proletariat—who represent the requirements for the development of new productive forces and are linked to advanced productive forces—thereby creating a new mode of production suited to their development.
Productive forces are social material powers created by social labor; the capitalist mode of production obscures their social nature. "This reaction of the violently growing productive forces against their character as capital, this increasingly powerful drive toward the recognition of their social nature, forces the capitalist class itself more and more to treat them as social productive forces, insofar as this is possible within the framework of capitalist relations." The development of productive forces continuously breaks through the private nature of capital and narrow relations of production. Capital accumulation and concentration lead to the expansion of the scale of production, requiring that the means of production be used in common by associated laborers. Capitalism’s partial reform of relations of production through joint-stock companies, trusts, and state-owned capital only proves that capital is no longer capable of managing increasingly powerful social productive forces. The adjustment of capitalist relations of production is driven by capital’s inherent nature of chasing surplus value; fundamentally, it is determined by the contradiction between productive forces and relations of production. "The bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionizing the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society." The contradiction between capitalist relations of production and productive forces causes periodic economic crises to break out frequently, which in reality is a forced alleviation of this contradiction at the cost of wasting productive forces. Economic crises prove that "the productive forces at the disposal of society no longer tend to further the development of the conditions of bourgeois civilization and bourgeois property relations." This necessitates the overthrow of the entire capitalist social system through a proletarian revolution to liberate social productive forces from capitalist relations of production, thereby achieving further development under new relations of production.
Proletarian revolution will open a communist path that liberates productive forces from the rule of capital, fully emancipating and exercising their social nature. "Through the planned utilization and further development of the enormous productive forces already existing for all members of society, and with the requirement that everyone must work, every person will be provided with the means of subsistence, enjoyment, and the development and exercise of all physical and intellectual faculties in an equal and increasingly abundant manner." Therefore, the social nature of productive forces manifests as follows: social production is characterized by being "planned," the ownership of productive forces belongs to all members of society, and the condition for their development is that everyone must work. After the social nature of productive forces is fully liberated, the alienation of productive forces from human beings will be sublated, and their development will become a condition for the well-rounded development of the individual. "Along with the well-rounded development of individuals, their productive forces also increase." The well-rounded development of individuals further drives the development of productive forces, achieving a "reconciliation" between human development and the development of productive forces.
IV. Practical Insights from the Scientific Meaning of Marx and Engels’ Concept of Productive Forces for Developing New Quality Productive Forces
As a theoretical form, "new quality productive forces" is an important landmark concept reflecting the development level and requirements of social productive forces in contemporary China. It represents a principled innovation of Marx and Engels’ concept of productive forces, achieves a terminological transformation in Marxist discourse on productive forces, and develops Marxist theory on the subject. As a material force, new quality productive forces are advanced productive forces with a new qualitative state, different from traditional productive forces, formed under the comprehensive influence of factors such as information, technology, science, and intelligence in contemporary society. They are productive forces possessing both "new quantity" and "new quality." The scientific connotation inherent in Marx and Engels’ concept of productive forces from a triple perspective provides important practical insights for our deep understanding and promotion of new quality productive forces.
First, developing new quality productive forces still requires leveraging and harnessing the important role of capital in driving the development of productive forces. As a relation of production, capital possesses a duality in promoting socio-economic development. On one hand, "the development of the social productive power of labor is the historical mission and historical right of capital." Capital of a certain scale can integrate the means of production and labor power, thereby fully exerting the power of the social combination of labor. On the other hand, "capital has an inherent nature of profit-seeking; if not regulated and constrained, it will bring immeasurable harm to economic and social development." The disorderly expansion of capital leads to environmental destruction, periodic economic crises, and social polarization. As a product of a specific level of development of productive forces, the degree to which capital can promote development is ultimately limited. While capital drives the development of productive forces, it also creates the material basis for a new and higher mode of production, creating the conditions for its own sublation. Therefore, we must both fully utilize the role of capital in promoting productive forces and guard against and regulate the disorderly growth of capital to avoid the harm brought by capital's profit-seeking, thereby liberating the social nature of productive forces.
To fully utilize capital to develop new quality productive forces, it is necessary, under the premise of adhering to the basic socialist economic system, to simultaneously strengthen government guidance and policy support, promoting the deep integration of capital with technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and green transformation. Specifically: First, optimize the direction of capital investment, focusing on core fields of new quality productive forces and strategic emerging industries, clarifying the value orientation that capital serves national strategies rather than short-term profit-seeking. Second, innovate capital operation models, develop multi-tiered capital markets, activate the vitality of state-owned capital, and explore new financing tools. Third, construct a virtuous cycle of "capital-technology-industry," creating a collaborative ecosystem for industry, academia, and research, and strengthening coordinated investment in industrial chains. Fourth, optimize the institutional environment, lowering the threshold for capital participation and improving the policy support system. "Improve the inclusiveness and adaptability of capital market institutions, and refine capital market functions that coordinate investment and financing." Fifth, provide "green lights" while setting up "red lights" for capital; we must both stimulate the vitality of capital and prevent systemic risks, ensuring that capital becomes a "booster" rather than a "harvester" of new quality productive forces.
In the process of utilizing capital to develop new quality productive forces, we need to fully exert the important role of various types of capital within the socialist market economy. First, promote state-owned capital and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to become stronger, better, and larger. Push for the concentration of SOEs and state-owned capital in public interest and foundational fields related to the national economy and people’s livelihoods, improve supervision and management mechanisms, and enhance their core competitiveness. Second, regulate and guide the healthy development of private capital. We must continuously break down institutional barriers hindering the development of the private economy through reform and strengthen policy safeguards through support. Establish and improve a legal and institutional system for the healthy development of private capital to create a fair and favorable environment. Third, encourage and guide medium- and long-term investment to help "patient capital" [6] grow. Patient capital focuses on medium- to long-term returns, which can overcome the short-sightedness brought by capital’s profit-seeking to a certain extent, and is conducive to guiding elements such as labor, knowledge, management, technology, and data toward the development of new quality productive forces. In short, capital is an important factor of production for driving new quality productive forces; we must "comprehensively enhance capital governance efficiency and modernize the capital supervision capacity and system." We must develop diversified, multi-tiered capital markets that meet the needs of new quality productive forces, providing a guarantee for utilizing capital to drive their development through the modernization of capital governance.
Second, developing new quality productive forces requires constructing new-type relations of production through further comprehensively deepening reform. The emergence and development of any new productive force require corresponding new relations of production; "development space" must be opened for new quality productive forces by building new relations of production through reform. The development of productive forces drives changes in relations of production; changes in relations of production require adjustments to the social system; and adjustments to the social system require the implementation of reform. Only by transforming relations of production can the development of productive forces be promoted. The transformation of relations of production is not realized spontaneously; it requires the proactive agency of human beings as historical subjects. Reform is an important way to resolve the contradiction where relations of production do not suit the development of productive forces within the same social formation, pushing relations of production toward adjustments that meet the requirements of productive forces. Therefore, "to develop new quality productive forces, we must further comprehensively deepen reform and form new-type relations of production that correspond to them."
Further comprehensively deepening reform means, on the basis of previous reform achievements, further adjusting various systems and mechanisms—such as socio-economic and cultural systems—that do not suit the development of productive forces, creating conditions for further liberating and developing them. First, take economic system reform as the lead. The economic system is the manifestation of relations of production in the social system; economic system reform can directly drive the adjustment of relations of production, thereby liberating and developing productive forces. We must persist in the reform direction of the socialist market economy, deepen the market-oriented allocation of factors, and smooth the flow of elements such as data, technology, and human capital to improve total factor productivity; improve the income distribution system, and promote the participation of production factors—such as labor, knowledge, technology, management, capital, and data—in distribution according to their contribution, enhancing the momentum and vitality of the development of new quality productive forces. Second, take legal system reform as a safeguard. The social legal system exerts an important counter-action on the economic base; a sound legal system can promote socio-economic development. We must deepen "decentralization, management, and service" [7] reforms, implement the deployment of a unified national market, and break down hidden and institutional barriers; improve regulations on anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition to ensure that market entities compete fairly under the rule of law, stimulating and enhancing their vitality and confidence in entrepreneurship. Third, accelerate the reform of the system for ecological civilization [8]. New quality productive forces are green productive forces, and the natural ecological environment is an important carrier of their development. We must promote the green upgrading and transformation of traditional industries, develop green industries and technologies, and strengthen the constraints of the "dual carbon" targets [9], injecting new momentum into new quality productive forces through a green and low-carbon economy. Fourth, deepen cultural system reform. New quality productive forces require new-type laborers with new qualities and skills; cultural and educational undertakings are important ways to cultivate labor skills and promote well-rounded human development. Spiritual and cultural production is an important component of social production. We must aim to enrich the spiritual world of the people, take the enhancement of the communication and influence of fine traditional Chinese culture as an internal requirement, and stimulate the vitality of cultural market entities and the cultural innovation and creativity of the whole nation. We must continuously promote the prosperity of cultural undertakings and industries, injecting cultural power into the development of new quality productive forces. In short, constructing new-type relations of production is a systemic project. We must persist in a problem-oriented approach and a systems perspective, coordinating reforms in key areas such as the economy, law, ecology, and culture to break down institutional barriers constraining the development of new quality productive forces.
Third, the development of new quality productive forces must take the promotion of the free and well-rounded development of the individual as its value orientation. The free and well-rounded development of the individual is an important condition for the development of productive forces, and promoting this development is an inherent meaning of productive force development. On one hand, human wisdom and ability are important driving forces for the development of productive forces. Only on the basis of well-rounded human development can social productive forces be fully developed and their social nature fully liberated. On the other hand,
"Since the working class has created the inexhaustible productive forces of modern industry, it has fulfilled the first condition for the liberation of labor." The development of productive forces objectively creates the conditions for realizing the liberation of labor and the free and well-rounded development of individuals, expanding the "time" and "space" for such development. Therefore, we must properly handle the relationship between the development of productive forces and human development, persisting in promoting the development of new quality productive forces while simultaneously facilitating the free and well-rounded development of individuals. Our country’s basic economic system and fundamental political system [10] lay a powerful institutional guarantee for the free and well-rounded development of individuals, while the economic system in which public ownership is the mainstay and diverse forms of ownership develop together provides a solid material foundation. In this regard, new quality productive forces represent the advanced productive forces of a socialist society; they are forces created and shared by all members of society, capable of driving the free and well-rounded development of individuals.
Persisting in the promotion of the free and well-rounded development of individuals through the development of new quality productive forces requires implementing the people-centered development philosophy. This means ensuring that development is for the people and relies on the people, striving to realize a state where the fruits of development are shared by all. In developing new quality productive forces, we must take "everything for the people" as our starting point, continuously satisfy the people’s aspirations for a better life, and regard the promotion of the free and well-rounded development of individuals as the fundamental goal. While promoting the continuous growth of new quality productive forces, we must actively advance the replacement of high-intensity and repetitive labor with automated and intelligent production technologies, improve working conditions for laborers, and create more free time for their well-rounded development. Ultimately, social productive forces are created by people; the human being is the most active factor among the productive forces, and the labor of the masses is the creative subject and fundamental strength behind the development of social productive forces. It is necessary to innovate the integrated mechanism for talent cultivation across industry, academia, and research, stimulating the creative vitality of all members of society. We must give full play to the entrepreneurial and pioneering spirit of laborers and scientific researchers, promote the transformation of scientific and technological innovations into actual productive forces, and achieve a virtuous cycle between talent cultivation, technological innovation, and the development of new quality productive forces.
The liberation of the masses and the improvement of social conditions "depend not only on the development of productive forces but also on whether the productive forces are owned by the people." A significant superiority of developing productive forces in a socialist society lies in consolidating and developing socialist public ownership, thereby liberating the social nature of the productive forces and breaking capital’s monopolistic and exploitative appropriation of them. By enhancing the quality and capacity of individuals and through their well-rounded development, we drive new quality productive forces toward higher levels, creating the necessary prerequisites and material basis for realizing the free and well-rounded development of humanity. We must improve the mechanism for income distribution based on factors of production, forming a synergy between primary distribution, redistribution, and third distribution [11]. We must implement the concept of shared development to ensure that the achievements of new quality productive forces benefit all people. In short, the purpose of developing productive forces in a socialist society is by no means the one-sided pursuit of material wealth; fundamentally, it is to open up space for human liberation and well-rounded development, achieving a harmonious unity between the development of productive forces and human progress.
Author Profiles: Zhang Lin, Professor at the First Training Department of the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance); Fu Guowei, Doctoral Candidate at the School of Marxism, Central Party School (National Academy of Governance).
Source: Theoretical Horizon (理论视野), Issue 11, 2025. Editor: Hui Hui