In Marx's critique of political economy, the capitalist mode of production is the production system of capitalist societies, which began in Europe in the 16th century, grew rapidly in Western Europe from the end of the 18th century, and later extended to most of the world. It is characterised by: the predominance of private ownership of the means of production and of labour power; distribution and exchange in a mainly market economy (commodity production); and capital accumulation (production for profit).
A "mode of production" (in German: Produktionsweise) means simply "the distinctive way of producing", which could be defined in terms of how it is socially organized and what kinds of technologies and tools are used. Under the capitalist mode of production
- both the inputs and outputs of production are mainly privately owned, priced goods and services purchased in the market.
- production is carried out for exchange and circulation in the market.
- the owners of the means of production (capitalists) are the dominant class (bourgeoisie) who derive their income from the surplus product.
- A defining feature of capitalism is the dependency on wage-labor for a large segment of the population; specifically, the working class (proletariat) do not own capital and must live by selling their labour power in exchange for a wage.
The capitalist mode of production may exist within societies with differing state systems (e.g. liberal democracy, Social democracy, fascism, Communist state, Czarism), and different social structures such as tribalism, the caste system, peasant society, and urban industrial society. Although capitalism has existed in the form of merchant activity, banking, renting land, and small-scale manufactures in previous stages of history, it was usually a relatively minor activity and secondary to the dominant forms of social organization and production; the prevailing property system kept commerce within clear limits.
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