Capitalist Mode of Production

ANNOTATION - I

In the fourth week text, Karl Marx is mentioning about production instruments. He claims that production should have an instrument even if it is just a hand. I am not agreeing with his idea of a need of an instrument for production. With the time and changing ways of communication, we do not need to have an instrument. The definition of production had also changed. In the timeline of Marx, production was defined by materialistic view; in other word, production was meaning things that we can see and hold or touch. However, in today's world, production ways are more than he may propose.

In my opinion, ideas are already a production ways in somehow. Actually it is not only related with today's conditions but also in the past. For instance a singer is a producer in my perspective. It aims to fill or improve people's lives as "products" do. Even we can think about early ages. Philosophers are also producers of some ideas that affect people's lives. Even also, teachers are producers who are producing some kind of people with some believes and acts learnt by them. While defining production, he refuses to include art and mental abilities and skills. They may look like individual production ways; but, consumers are generally mass of people.

Individualist production, in my design perspective, is not used now as much as it was in past years. In today's mass production or other ways of production, things are getting done by people who are from different abilities. Interdisciplinary studies have serious influence and dominancy in production ways. I would like to give an example about individual work process in the mass manufacturing line of Ford. As you may know, Henry Ford is the one who used moving line system in his factory and workers need to just wait and do one step of the whole. This production method supports the idea of Marx and still exists in substantial number of factories. However, there is an almost new way of production which is changing the role of a worker in the concept of production: Toyota. Workers are not one by one next to each other and waiting for their parts to come, but they are in groups of worker and setting things in fewer places. Moreover, if there is a missing or slow part in the factory, some other workers might be directed to these parts. It means that workers know what do other workers do, and it separates from individual production. But it is definitely sure that it serves to the benefits of boss.

To sum up, I think production instruments which are told to be a necessary are out of dated. People still use production instruments such as hands, machines, computers or other things; but, on the other hand, productions related with mental skills are gaining importance more and more. Production has an important effect on social issues too. If they have a job that they can be proud, they are more comfortable