On the New Quality Mode of Production

The concept of “new quality productive forces” has attracted widespread attention both domestically and internationally since it was proposed, and has now become a high-frequency buzzword. Existing research mainly focuses on the theoretical connotation, characteristics, formation logic, and the practical and realization pathways of new quality productive forces.[1]1 [8]584: Reference to Marx, *Capital*, Volume 1, Chapter 15, Section 8, page 584 of a standard edition. However, in the study of the identification and realization pathways of new quality productive forces, there is a phenomenon of either simply reducing it to a problem of technological progress or isolating it and elevating it to a problem of changes in relations of production. Within the perspective of Marxist political economy, there are regular connections among productive forces, the mode of production, and relations of production. Grasping the different stages of the development of productive forces amidst changes in the mode of production is Marx’s fundamental method. If one does not start from the mode of production, it is difficult to explain clearly the formation mechanism of new quality productive forces: first, the key to developing productive forces lies in the fact that it is people who decide and choose to adopt a specific mode of production to realize the combined role of the factors of production; second, the formation of new quality productive forces depends on a new mode of production. New quality productive forces belong to a qualitative leap in the development of productive forces, the latter essentially lying in bringing about a fundamental change in the mode of production through changes in the factors of production themselves and their combination; third, when a country’s productive forces rise, it will also form a superior mode of production with national characteristics. Therefore, to determine whether a qualitative change has occurred in productive forces, one must see whether the mode of production associated with them has undergone a fundamental transformation. Similarly, to cultivate and develop new quality productive forces, it is necessary to reshape the basic form of the mode of production; breakthrough innovation in the mode of production is the foundation for developing advanced productive forces.

“新质生产力”概念一提出来就受到国内外的广泛关注，目前已成为高频热词。现有研究主要围绕新质生产力的理论内涵、特征、形成逻辑，及其形成的实践和实现路径等方面展开。[1]然而，在新质生产力的识别和实现路径研究上，存在着将其简单地还原为一个技术进步问题或者孤立地上升为一个生产关系变革问题的现象。在马克思主义政治经济学的视野里，生产力、生产方式、生产关系之间存在着规律性的联系。在生产方式变革中把握生产力发展的不同阶段，是马克思的基本方法。如果不从生产方式入手，则很难解释清楚新质生产力的形成机制：其一，发展生产力的关键在于，是人在决定和选择采取某种具体生产方式来实现要素的组合作用；其二，新质生产力的形成依赖于新的生产方式。新质生产力属于生产力发展的质的飞跃，后者本质上在于通过生产要素本身及其组合的变化带来生产方式的根本改变；其三，一国在生产力崛起的同时，也会形成具有国别特色的优势生产方式。因此，判定生产力是否发生质变就看与其相联系的生产方式是否发生了根本性变革。同样，培育和发展新质生产力，就必须重塑生产方式的基本形态，生产方式的突破性创新是发展先进生产力的基础。

The structural arrangement of this article is as follows: first, based on Marx’s texts, further clarify the meaning of the mode of production and its relationship with productive forces and relations of production; second, expound the historical transformation of the capitalist mode of production from cooperation to the division of labor in manufacture to large-scale machine industry; third, analyze the realization mechanism of breakthrough changes in the mode of production under capitalist conditions; finally, discuss how China, in the new stage of development, can realize the transformation from the traditional mode of production to the new quality mode of production, using a more advanced high-quality mode of production to promote the accelerated development of new quality productive forces.

本文的结构安排如下：首先，根据马克思的文本，进一步厘清生产方式的含义及其与生产力、生产关系的关系；其次，阐述资本主义生产方式从协作到工场手工业分工再到机器大工业的历史性转变；再次，分析资本主义条件下生产方式发生突破性变革的实现机制；最后，讨论我国在新发展阶段如何实现从传统生产方式向新质生产方式的转变，以更加先进的高质量生产方式推动新质生产力加快发展。

I. How to Understand the Mode of Production

一、如何理解生产方式

At the beginning of the “Introduction” to *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Marx points out: “The object before us, to begin with, is material production. Individuals producing in society – hence socially determined individual production – is, of course, the point of departure.”[7]7 [27] Reference to the principle of establishing Party organizations in enterprises, analogous to the Party branch system in the People's Liberation Army.5 Here, Marx makes it very clear that the starting point of political economy research is material production. Of course, political economy’s examination of material production focuses “not on what is produced, but on how it is produced, with what instruments of labor it is produced”; this refers precisely to the material mode of production. In Marx’s works, the mode of production is a category that frequently “appears” but is highly abstract.[9]9 The original text contains a superscript reference marker [9] here, but the corresponding note is not provided in the source material. How to grasp the connotation of the mode of production has become a matter of opinion.

在《〈政治经济学批判〉导言》的开篇，马克思指出：“摆在面前的对象，首先是物质生产。在社会中进行生产的个人，——因而，这些个人的一定社会性质的生产，当然是出发点。”[7]5这里，马克思说得十分清楚，政治经济学研究的出发点是物质生产。当然，政治经济学对物质生产的考察，重点并“不在于生产什么，而在于怎样生产，用什么劳动资料生产”,这里指的就是物质生产方式。在马克思的著作里，生产方式是一个经常“出场”但又高度抽象的范畴。[9]如何把握生产方式的内涵，已经成了一个见仁见智的问题。

In the author’s view, the mode of production is a unity of material substance and social form. From the perspective of material existence, the mode of production is the specific way and form in which the “human” factor and the “material” factor combine and interact in the production process. In this sense, the mode of production is the material mode of production, possessing substantiality and materiality. The differences between various material modes of production are mainly manifested in differences in the instruments of labor and in the forms of labor organization. From the perspective of social existence, for a specific production process, both the “human” factor and the “material” factor are products of certain social relations of production, possessing their historical specificity and particular social form. Consequently, the material mode of production, as the carrier of their combination and interaction, also has its particular social form①. Marx points out, “Whatever the social form of production, workers and means of production always remain its factors. But in a state of separation from each other, these factors are only potentially factors of production. For production to take place, they must be combined. The particular way and method in which this combination is accomplished distinguishes the different economic epochs of the social structure.” Under the conditions of capitalist production, the separation of free workers and the means of production is the established point of departure; therefore, free workers can only enter the actual production process by combining with the means of production in the hands of the capitalist through the form of wage labor. The so-called capitalist form of production emphasizes that workers and means of production are combined as “the mode of existence of capital in production,” i.e., wage labor and capital. The social form of the material mode of production embodies the essential characteristics of the relations of production, “indicating a definite social relation or economic form determination.” In Marxist economics, there is no abstract production; any production activity is always production at a certain stage of social development. Therefore, only the material mode of production manifested within a definite social form of production is the objective entity of the mode of production. The capitalist mode of production is merely a general term for the entire relationship and mode of method presented by the material mode of production in the capitalist production process.

以笔者所见，生产方式是物质实体和社会形式的统一体。从物质存在看，生产方式是生产过程中“人”的因素与“物”的因素相互结合、相互作用的特定方式及形式。在此意义上，生产方式就是物质生产方式，具有实体性、物质性。各种物质生产方式的区别主要表现在劳动资料的不同和劳动组织形式的不同。从社会存在看，对于特定的生产过程，无论是“人”的因素还是“物”的因素，都是一定的社会生产关系的产物，都有其历史规定性和特殊的社会形式，从而作为二者相互结合、相互作用的载体的物质生产方式，也有其特殊的社会形式①。马克思指出，“不论生产的社会的形式如何，劳动者和生产资料始终是生产的因素。但是，二者在彼此分离的情况下只在可能性上是生产因素。凡要进行生产，它们就必须结合起来。实行这种结合的特殊方式和方法，使社会结构区分为各个不同的经济时期”。在资本主义生产条件下，自由工人和生产资料的分离是既定的出发点，因此，自由工人只能通过雇佣形式与资本家手中的生产资料相结合才能进入现实生产过程。所谓生产的资本主义形式，着重说明工人和生产资料是作为“资本的生产的存在方式”,即雇佣劳动和资本结合起来的。物质生产方式的社会形式，体现着生产关系的本质特征，“表示着一定的社会关系或经济的形式规定性”。在马克思主义经济学看来，没有抽象的生产，任何生产活动总是一定社会发展阶段上的生产，因而只有在一定的、生产的社会形式中表现出来的物质生产方式，才是生产方式的客观实体。资本主义生产方式，不过是对资本主义生产过程中物质生产方式所呈现的整个关系和方式方法的概括说法。

The three categories of productive forces, mode of production, and relations of production are both interconnected and distinct from each other. Regarding the relationships among them, there are mainly the “unity theory” and the “mediation theory.” However, there has always been controversy over these two theories.[9]9 The original text contains a superscript reference marker [9] here, but the corresponding note is not provided in the source material. From the perspective of the relationship between the mode of production and productive forces, the mode of production is the specific form and mode of method for preserving and developing productive forces. The mode of production both manifests a certain level of productive forces and serves the creation of productive forces. On the one hand, the mode of production is the actual representation of productive forces. The actual level of productive forces in any society will be manifested through a certain mode of production; on the other hand, the mode of production is the means by which productive forces are realized or play their role. Only by means of a certain mode of production can the potential productive forces latent in the factors of production and their combination be transformed into actual productive forces. Otherwise, they are “merely potential capacities, not real forces.”[13]13 The original text contains a superscript reference marker [13] here, but the corresponding note is not provided in the source material. ① The original text contains a footnote marker ① here, but the corresponding footnote text is not provided in the source material. A leap in productive forces requires the formation of a new mode of production to adapt to its development demands; the new mode of production is the product of the further development of productive forces. From the perspective of the relationship between the mode of production and relations of production, the material mode of production is the basic carrier of relations of production, necessarily manifesting the particular nature of certain social relations of production, while relations of production are “nothing but the economic relations of this specific mode of production.” Relations of production determine the social nature and development direction of the mode of production. It is precisely because the relations of production acting upon the material mode of production differ that the mode of production possesses different social natures. The dominant mode of production necessarily reflects the interest demands of the class that holds the dominant position within certain social relations of production. For example, the capitalist production process is subordinate to capital, “or, this mode of production is based on the relationship between capital and wage labor, and this relationship is the determining, dominant mode of production.” The production of absolute surplus value and relative surplus value determines “the entire social and technical form of the capitalist production process.” Relations of production are non-substantive elements; if separated from a certain social production, from a certain mode of production, relations of production cannot be grasped. From the perspective of reproduction, any mode of production “not only continuously reproduces the material product, but also continuously reproduces the social economic relations, i.e., the economic form determination in the formation of the material product.” Thus, the mode of production must not only ensure the reproduction of the conditions of production but also ensure the reproduction of the relations of production, ensuring that the interests of the owners of the conditions of production are realized.

生产力、生产方式、生产关系这三个范畴既相互联系，又相互区别。关于它们之间的关系，主要有“统一体说”和“中介说”。不过，对于这两种论说，历来有争议。[9]从生产方式与生产力的关系看，生产方式是保存和发展生产力的具体形式和方式方法。生产方式既表现一定的生产力水平，也服务于生产力的创造。一方面，生产方式是生产力的现实表征。任何一个社会的生产力的现实水平，都会通过一定的生产方式表现出来；另一方面，生产方式是生产力实现或者说发挥作用的手段。只有借助一定的生产方式，蕴藏在生产要素及其结合中的潜在生产力才能转化为现实生产力。否则，它们就“只是潜在的能力而非现实的力量”。[13]生产力的跃迁要求形成新的生产方式来适应它的发展要求，新的生产方式是生产力进一步发展的产物。从生产方式与生产关系的关系看，物质生产方式是生产关系的基本载体，必然表现一定的社会生产关系的特殊性质，而生产关系“不过是这一特定生产方式的必然关系的经济关系”。生产关系规定着生产方式的社会性质及其发展方向。正是因为对物质生产方式施加作用的生产关系不同，而使得生产方式具有不同的社会性质。处于支配地位的生产方式，必然反映着在一定的社会生产关系中占主导地位的阶级的利益要求。例如，资本主义的生产过程从属于资本，“或者说，这种生产方式以资本和雇佣劳动的关系为基础，而且这种关系是起决定作用的、占支配地位的生产方式”。绝对剩余价值和相对剩余价值的生产，决定着“资本主义生产过程全部社会的和技术的形态”。生产关系属于非实体性要素，如果离开一定的社会生产，离开一定的生产方式，生产关系就无从把握。从再生产看，任何一种生产方式，“不仅不断再生产物质的产品，而且不断再生产社会的经济关系，即再生产物质产品形成上的经济的形式规定性”。可见，生产方式不仅要保证生产条件的再生产，而且也要保证生产关系的再生产，保证生产条件所有者的利益得以实现。

Social production at a given stage of historical development has its own specific material mode of production. Marx calls it the specific mode of production, which "on the one hand, creates new material productive forces, and on the other hand, can only develop on the basis of these new material productive forces, thereby actually creating for itself new real conditions." The specific mode of production peculiar to capitalist production is the "specifically capitalist mode of production." The French edition of *Capital* calls it the "capitalist mode of production in the strict sense." The specific material mode of production is not only the principal means of preserving and developing the productive forces within a given economic system, but also the main carrier and form of realization of the relations of production. When Marx says, "on the one hand, the capitalist mode of production presents itself as a historical necessity for the transformation of the labour process into a social process; on the other hand, this social form of the labour process presents itself as a method employed by capital to exploit labour more profitably by increasing the productive power of the labour process," the "transformation of the labour process into a social process" is linked to the productive forces, while "capital exploits labour more profitably by increasing the productive power of the labour process" embodies the essential requirements of capitalist relations of production.

处于一定历史发展阶段上的社会生产有其特有的物质生产方式。马克思称之为特殊生产方式，该生产方式“一方面创造出新的物质生产力，另一方面，它只有在这种新的物质生产力的基础上才能得到发展，从而在实际上给自己创造出新的现实的条件。”资本主义生产所特有的生产方式就是“特殊的资本主义的生产方式”。法文版《资本论》称其为“严格意义的资本主义生产方式”。特殊物质生产方式不仅是既定经济体系中保存和发展生产力的主要手段，也是生产关系的主要载体和实现形式。当马克思说，“一方面，资本主义生产方式表现为劳动过程转化为社会过程的历史必然性，另一方面，劳动过程的这种社会形式表现为资本通过提高劳动过程的生产力来更有利地剥削劳动过程的一种方法”时，其中，“劳动过程转化为社会过程”是同生产力相联系的，而“资本通过提高劳动过程的生产力来更有利地剥削劳动过程”则体现了资本主义生产关系的本质要求。

II. The Systemic Transformation of the Capitalist Mode of Production

二、资本主义生产方式的系统性变迁

The material mode of production evolves continuously over time, taking different forms of development in different historical periods. Marx points out: "Every definite historical form of the labour process further develops its material foundations and its social form. When it reaches a certain stage of maturity, this definite historical form is cast aside and makes way for a higher form." Here, "every definite historical form of the labour process" refers to the material mode of production of a given period. The material mode of production follows a law of evolution from lower to higher forms, successively replacing one another. Any material mode of production, when it reaches its mature stage, gradually disintegrates and is replaced by a new, higher mode of production. In Part Four of Volume I of *Capital*, Marx examines the transformation of the material mode of production under capitalism from cooperation, through the division of labour in manufacture, to large-scale machine industry, completing a profound analysis of the capitalist labour process and the process of valorization. Among these, cooperation is the basic form of the capitalist mode of production; the division of labour in manufacture is its conscious, planned, and systematic form; and large-scale machine industry is the specifically capitalist mode of production. That is to say, only at the stage of large-scale machine industry does capital "for the first time create its own specific mode of production."

物质生产方式在时间上是不断发展演化的，在不同历史时期有不同的发展形态。马克思指出：“劳动过程的每个一定的历史形式，都会进一步发展这个过程的物质基础和社会形式。这个一定的历史形式达到一定的成熟阶段就会被抛弃，并让位给较高级的形式。”这里，“劳动过程的每个一定的历史形式”,就是指一定时期的物质生产方式。物质生产方式遵循从低级到高级依次更替的演化规律。任何物质生产方式，当其发展到成熟阶段时就会逐渐解体，被新的更高级的物质生产方式取代。在《资本论》第一卷第四篇中，马克思考察了资本主义条件下物质生产方式从协作到工场手工业分工再到机器大工业的转变，完成了对资本主义劳动过程和价值增殖方式的深刻分析。其中，协作是资本主义生产方式的基本形式；工场手工业分工是资本主义生产方式有意识、有计划和系统的形式，而机器大工业是特殊的资本主义生产方式。也就是说，只有到了机器大工业这个阶段，资本才“第一次创造出它所特有的生产方式”。

The starting point of capitalist production is simple cooperation, i.e., "a greater number of workers working together at the same time, in the same place (or, if you like, in the same workplace), under the command of the same capitalist, to produce the same kind of commodity." At the stage of simple cooperation, capital merely places the existing, given labour process directly under its own domination. In terms of the material existence of the mode of production, there is little change compared to guild handicraft industry; hence it "does not constitute a fixed, characteristic form of a particular epoch in the development of the capitalist mode of production." Nevertheless, on this basis, the "compulsion to surplus labour" increases the continuity and intensity of labour, making it more conducive to production and to the differentiated development of labour capacities, thereby "favouring the differentiation of labour methods and modes of livelihood." At the stage of manufacture, the division of labour develops further. "The decomposition of handicraft activities, the specialization of tools, the formation of detail workers, and their grouping and combination in a single overall mechanism, brought about the qualitative division and quantitative proportion of the social production process, thereby creating a definite organization of social labour." This change in the material mode of production strengthened the continuity, uniformity, regularity, and orderliness of labour, thereby also developing new social labour productivity. However, the efficiency of manufacture still depended on the strength, skill, speed, and accuracy with which each worker used their tools; its "narrow technical basis excluded a truly scientific decomposition of the production process," and the combined manufacture "could not, on its own basis, achieve a truly technical unity." From the mid-16th century to the end of the 18th century, manufacture accounted for only a small part of national production; "in some form, in some branches of industry, in some places, it abolished urban handicrafts and rural domestic industry, while in other places it caused them to reappear." Manufacture could neither encompass all industrial production nor fundamentally transform it. However, "with the development of large-scale labour, the application of science and machinery in direct production also developed." Thus, "a mode of production that is specific in both its technological and other aspects, a mode of production that changes the real character of the labour process and its real conditions," was gradually established. This is large-scale machine industry. At the stage of large-scale machine industry, the skill in using the instruments of labour is transferred from the worker to the machine; the worker is incorporated into the machine system as a living appendage. The operation of the machine henceforth determines and regulates the worker's activity, and "handicraft activity ceases to be the governing principle of social production." Therefore, only "on the basis of and with the development of this specifically capitalist mode of production do the relations of production appropriate to the capitalist production process, particularly the relations between capitalists and wage-labourers, also develop."

资本主义生产的起点是简单协作，即“人数较多的工人在同一时间、同一空间(或者说同一劳动场所),为了生产同种商品，在同一资本家的指挥下工作”。在简单协作阶段，资本只是把已有的、现存的劳动过程直接地置于自身支配之下。就生产方式的物质存在来说，与行会手工业相比并无太大变化，因而“并不构成资本主义生产方式的一个特殊发展时代的固定的具有特征的形式”。不过，在此基础上，“对剩余劳动的强制”提高了劳动的连续性和劳动强度，更加有利于生产，也有利于劳动能力的差别化发展，从而“有利于劳动方式和谋生方式的分化”。到了工场手工业时期，分工得到进一步发展。“手工业活动的分解，劳动工具的专门化，局部工人的形成以及局部工人在一个总机构中的分组和结合，造成了社会生产过程的质的划分和量的比例，从而创立了社会劳动的一定组织。”物质生产方式的这种变化，加强了劳动的连续性、划一性、规则性、秩序性，从而也就发展了新的社会劳动生产力。但是，工场手工业生产的效率仍然取决于每个工人使用工具时的力量、熟练度、速度和准确性，其“狭隘的技术基础使生产过程得不到真正科学的分解”,结合的工场手工业也“不能在自己的基础上达到真正的技术上的统一”。从16世纪中叶到18世纪末，工场手工业只占国民生产的很小一部分，“它在某种形式下，在某些工业部门，在某些地方消灭城市手工业和农村家庭副业，同时又在其他地方使它们重新出现”。工场手工业既不能囊括全部工业生产，也不能从根本上改造它。然而，“随着大规模劳动的发展，科学和机器在直接生产中的应用也发展了”。这样，“一种在工艺方面和其他方面都是特殊的生产方式，一种使劳动过程的现实性质及其现实条件都发生变化的生产方式”逐步建立起来。这就是机器大工业。在机器大工业阶段，使用劳动工具的技巧从工人身上转到了机器上面，工人被当作活的附属物并入机器体系。机器的运转从此决定和调节着工人的活动，而“手工业的活动不再成为社会生产的支配原则”。所以，只有在特殊的资本主义生产方式的“基础上并随着这种生产方式的发展，与资本主义生产过程相适应的、各生产当事人之间的、特别是资本家与雇佣工人之间的生产关系，也才发展起来”。

Marx's examination of the three successive stages of development of the capitalist mode of production reveals the reciprocal relationship of change between the material mode of production and the relations of production under the capitalist form of production. Duan Zhongqiao argues that Marx's exposition "easily creates an illusion that capitalist relations of production arise on the basis of a pre-capitalist mode of production, and that only after the emergence of capitalist relations of production do modes of production with capitalist characteristics, such as cooperation, the division of labour in manufacture, and large-scale machine industry, emerge and develop. This would seem to suggest that it is not the mode of production that determines the emergence of relations of production, but rather relations of production that determine the emergence of the mode of production." As previously stated, the relations of production determine the social character and direction of development of the mode of production. When the labour process is formally subsumed under capital, how the production process is organized becomes subordinate to the capitalist's need to control the labour process and output in order to realize the valorization of capital. From cooperation through manufacture to large-scale machine industry, this evolutionary process is necessarily constrained by the action of capital relations. Of course, large-scale machine industry not only brought about the systemic transformation of the capitalist mode of production but also reshaped the capital-labour relation. Large-scale machine industry transferred control of the labour process into the hands of the capitalist, causing the subsumption of labour under capital to develop from formal subsumption to real subsumption. As a specific form of the development of the social productive forces of labour under capitalism, it contains the tendency to constantly reduce the value of commodities and to maximize the negation of necessary labour, becoming the most powerful instrument for capital to extract surplus value. It embodies the determining purpose and driving interest of capitalist production and realizes capital's power over labour. It can be said that, on the one hand, relations of production reshape the mode of production; on the other hand, changes in the mode of production promote the development of relations of production.

马克思对资本主义生产方式前后相继的三个发展阶段的考察，说明了在资本主义的生产形式下物质生产方式同生产关系互相改变的关系。段忠桥认为，马克思的论述“很容易使人产生一种错觉，即资本主义生产关系的产生是基于前资本主义的生产方式，只是在资本主义生产关系出现之后，具有资本主义特征的生产方式，如协作、分工的工场手工业和机器大工业，才得以产生和发展。这样一来，似乎就不是生产方式决定生产关系的产生，而是生产关系决定生产方式的产生”。前已述及，生产关系规定着生产方式的社会性质及其发展方向。当劳动过程在形式上从属于资本时，生产过程如何组织，就从属于资本家控制劳动过程和产量以实现资本增殖的需要。从协作到工场手工业再到机器大工业，这一演变过程必然受制于资本关系的作用。当然，机器大工业不仅实现了资本主义生产方式的系统性变迁，而且重塑了劳资关系。机器大工业把劳动过程的控制权转移到资本家手中，使得劳动对资本的从属由形式从属发展到实际从属。作为资本主义社会劳动生产力发展的一种特殊形式，它包含着不断压低商品价值、最大限度否定必要劳动的趋势，成了资本榨取剩余价值最有力的工具。它体现了资本主义生产的决定目的和驱动利益，实现着资本支配劳动的权力。可以说，一方面，生产关系重塑了生产方式；另一方面，生产方式的改变会促进生产关系的发展。

From the perspective of productive forces, the great significance of large-scale machine industry lies in its realization of a revolution in productive forces. In developing labor productivity, large-scale machine industry is a more effective form of production organization. Large-scale machine industry combines immense natural forces, the collective force generated by labor cooperation, and the power of science and technology, enabling a leap in social productive forces and triggering a complete economic revolution. Mao Zedong once stated, “A great development of productive forces always occurs after a change in the relations of production. Take the history of capitalist development: as Marx said, simple cooperation itself creates a productive force. The handicraft workshop was such a form of simple cooperation, and on this basis emerged the relations of production of the first stage of capitalist development. The handicraft workshop was capitalism without machine production. This capitalist relation of production generated a need to improve technology, opening the path for the adoption of machinery.” [19] In reality, the intermediary between the change in relations of production and the great development of productive forces is the revolution in the mode of production. In the case of capitalism, it was first the emergence of the capital relation, which gradually triggered a transformation in the material mode of production, and only at the developmental stage of large-scale machine industry did a qualitative leap in productive forces occur. Thus, a breakthrough transformation of the mode of production is the foundation for developing advanced productive forces.

从生产力来看，机器大工业的重要意义在于实现了生产力革命。在发展劳动生产力上，机器大工业是更有效的生产组织形式。机器大工业合并了巨大的自然力、劳动协作产生的集体力以及科学技术的力量，使得社会生产力得到跃迁，并引发了一场完全的经济革命。毛泽东曾说，“生产力的大发展，总是在生产关系改变以后。拿资本主义发展的历史来说，正如马克思所说的，简单的协作就创造了一种生产力。手工工场就是这样一种简单协作，在这种协作的基础上，就产生了资本主义发展第一阶段的生产关系。手工工场是非机器生产的资本主义。这种资本主义生产关系产生了一种改进技术的需要，为采用机器开辟了道路”。[19]实际上，从生产关系改变到生产力大发展，中介是生产方式革命。就资本主义而言，先是资本关系的产生，逐渐引发物质生产方式的变革，最终到了机器大工业这个发展阶段才出现了生产力的质的飞跃。由此可见，生产方式的突破性变革是发展先进生产力的基础。

Each set of relations of production has a material mode of production that is most compatible with it. Marx pointed out that small-scale production, as a mode of production, certainly existed under slavery, serfdom, and other relations of dependence. However, “it attains its full development, displays all its power, and acquires its appropriate classical form only where the worker is the free private owner of his own conditions of labor, set in motion by himself: the peasant of the land which he cultivates, the artisan of the tool which he handles as a virtuoso.” [8]872 The individual small-scale mode of production exists by relying on the forms of the scattered small-peasant economy and the small handicraft economy. It presupposes the dispersal of land and other means of production and is based on the private ownership of the independent producer over his means of production, i.e., the conditions of his labor. [8]872 In contrast, large-scale machine industry is the material mode of production specific to capitalism, the mode of production “appropriate” to capital. [7]7 [27] Reference to the principle of establishing Party organizations in enterprises, analogous to the Party branch system in the People's Liberation Army.188 It was the new material productive forces created by large-scale machine industry that established the dominance of capital. Of course, calling large-scale machine industry the specific capitalist mode of production does not mean it is the ultimate form of development of the mode of production in the capitalist era. Since the 20th century, the capitalist mode of production has seen forms like Fordism and post-Fordism, whose core lies in increasing the efficiency of commodity production through the control of wage labor.

每一种生产关系都有与其最为匹配的物质生产方式。马克思曾指出，小生产作为一种生产方式固然在奴隶制度、农奴制度以及其他从属关系中也是存在的，但是，“只有在劳动者是自己使用的劳动条件的自由私有者，农民是自己耕种的土地的自由私有者，手工业者是自己运用自如的工具的自由私有者的地方，它才得到充分发展，才显示出它的全部力量，才获得适当的典型的形式”。[8]872个体小生产方式依靠分散的小农经济和小手工业经济形式而存在，以土地及其他生产资料的分散为前提，以独立劳动者对其生产资料即劳动条件的私有权为基础。[8]872而机器大工业是资本主义特有的物质生产方式，是与资本“相适合的生产方式”。[7]188正是机器大工业创造出来的新的物质生产力奠定了资本的统治地位。当然，称机器大工业为特殊的资本主义生产方式，并不意味着它是资本主义时代生产方式发展的终极形态。20世纪以来，资本主义生产方式又出现了福特制、后福特制等形式，其核心在于通过对雇佣劳动的控制提高商品生产的效率。

III. The Realization Mechanism of Breakthrough Transformations in the Mode of Production under Capitalist Conditions

三、资本主义条件下生产方式突破性变革的实现机制

How do breakthrough transformations in the mode of production occur under capitalist conditions? How did large-scale machine industry gradually grow into the dominant material mode of production? Drawing on Marx’s relevant discussions, we believe this includes the following key points.

资本主义条件下生产方式的突破性变革是如何发生的?机器大工业是如何一步步成长为占统治地位物质生产方式的?结合马克思的有关论述，我们认为包括以下几个要点。

First, the transformation of the instruments of labor is the foundation for the transformation of the mode of production.

第一，劳动资料变革是生产方式变革的基础。

Marx pointed out: “The transformation of the mode of production in manufacture takes labor-power as its starting-point; in large-scale industry, it takes the instruments of labor as its starting-point.” The division of labor in manufacture simplified, improved, and diversified the tools of labor, creating the material conditions for the emergence of machinery. The transition from handicraft production to machine production began with the tool or working machine; it was precisely the creation of the tool machine that made the revolution in motive power necessary. Machines were first produced by the manufacturing workshop itself. Once they reached a certain stage of development, they “came into conflict with the technical basis on which handicraft and manufacture were based.” Only when machines were used to produce machines did large-scale industry “establish a technical foundation adequate to itself and stand on its own feet.” Furthermore, when the instruments of labor take the material form of machinery, they require “the conscious application of natural science, in place of the empirically derived rules of thumb.” In this way, large-scale industry, based on the system of machinery, “separates science, as an independent productive force, from labor and presses it into the service of capital.” Therefore, the technical basis of modern industry is revolutionary.

马克思指出：“生产方式的变革，在工场手工业中以劳动力为起点，在大工业中以劳动资料为起点。”工场手工业分工使劳动工具简化、改进和多样化，为机器的出现创造了物质条件。由手工业生产过渡到机器生产，以工具机为起点，正是工具机的创造才使得动力革命成为必要。机器首先是由手工工场制造出来的，其发展到一定阶段就会“在技术上同自己的手工业和工场手工业的基础发生冲突”。只有到了用机器来生产机器的阶段，大工业才“建立起与自己相适应的技术基础，才得以自立”。并且，劳动资料取得机器这种物质存在方式，要求“以自觉应用自然科学来代替从经验中得出的成规”。这样，以机器体系为基础的大工业就“把科学作为一种独立的生产能力与劳动分离开来，并迫使科学为资本服务”。因此，现代工业的技术基础是革命的。

Second, the competition for surplus value is the fundamental driving force for innovation in the mode of production.

第二，对超额剩余价值的竞逐是生产方式创新的根本动力。

The production of surplus value is the direct purpose and decisive motive of capitalist production. “The reproduction and accumulation of capital depend more on the productivity of the labor employed.” “Changing the technical and social conditions of the labor process, and consequently the mode of production itself” [6]6 [26] Reference to the characterization of the Third Industrial Revolution as a qualitative change involving AI substituting for mental labour. is the fundamental way to increase labor productivity. Those “capitalists who employ the improved mode of production appropriate a larger portion of the working day for surplus labor than do other capitalists in the same trade,” i.e., they can obtain extra surplus value. Therefore, “the immanent drive and constant tendency of capital is to raise the productivity of labor in order to cheapen commodities, and by cheapening commodities to cheapen the worker himself.” Some scholars believe that the transformation of the mode of production is entirely driven by technological progress. This view is actually somewhat biased. In Marx’s view, “the development of the instruments of labor into a system of machinery is not accidental for capital,” but is “a historical transformation suited to the requirements of capital.” Once capital dominates production itself, it “gives production a completely changed and specific form.” That is, capital shapes the entire appearance of the labor process. Capital not only gives production activity a specific social determination but also “causes all the social and technical conditions of the labor process to be revolutionized.” It can even be said that the capital relation plays a decisive role in the transformation of the capitalist mode of production.

剩余价值生产是资本主义生产的直接目的和决定性动机。“资本的再生产和积累，更多地取决于所使用的劳动的生产率。”“变革劳动过程的技术条件和社会条件，从而变革生产方式本身”,6是提高劳动生产率的根本途径。那些“采用改良的生产方式的资本家，比同行业的其余资本家在一个工作日中占有更大的部分作为剩余劳动”,即可以获得超额剩余价值，因而“提高劳动生产力来使商品便宜，并通过商品便宜来使工人本身便宜，是资本的内在的冲动和经常的趋势”。有学者认为，生产方式的变革完全受技术进步驱动，这种看法实际上是有失偏颇的。在马克思看来，“劳动资料发展为机器体系，对资本来说并不是偶然的”,而是“适合于资本要求的历史性变革”。一旦资本支配生产本身，就会“赋予生产一个完全改变了的独特形式”。也就是说，资本形塑了整个劳动过程的面貌。资本不仅赋予生产活动以特定的社会规定性，而且“使劳动过程的全部社会条件和工艺条件发生变革”。甚至可以说，资本关系对资本主义生产方式的变迁起着决定性作用。

Third, competition drives the diffusion of new modes of production.

第三，竞争推动新的生产方式扩散。

First, competition leads to the widespread application of new modes of production within a given branch of industry. Generally, the capitalist who first adopts a new mode of production can achieve higher labor productivity and profit rates compared to competitors, thus gaining a competitive advantage. In this situation, the law of value acts as “a coercive law of competition, forcing his competitors to adopt the new mode of production.” For example, when some capitalists adopt machinery and implement a new division of labor, “other capitalists participating in the competition will adopt the same machinery, the same division of labor, and on the same or even a larger scale.” Since extra surplus value exists only transiently in the dynamic process of competition, once the new mode of production is universally adopted within the same branch, the extra surplus value disappears. However, as long as a complete monopoly structure is not formed and artificial monopoly policies are not implemented for protection, this dynamic competition based on innovation in the mode of production and increased labor productivity will not cease. Instead, it will unfold round after round at new levels. Second, the transformation of the mode of production leads to the dissolution of traditional modes of production. The transformation of the mode of production turns “the field of labor into a battlefield.” “Wherever it is introduced into a branch of industry, it tolerates no older method of production alongside itself.” The formation of large-scale industry and the world market makes this struggle more universal and more intense. “Between capitalists, between branches of industry, and between countries, life and death are staked on the superiority or inferiority of natural or artificial conditions of production.”

首先，竞争导致新的生产方式在本部门广泛应用。一般而言，率先采用新生产方式的资本家，相对于竞争对手可获得更高的劳动生产率与利润率，也更具竞争优势。在这种情形下，价值规律又会作为“竞争的强制规律，迫使他的竞争者也采用新的生产方式”。例如，当某些资本家采用机器和实行新的分工时，“参与竞争的其他资本家也会采用同样的机器，实行同样的分工，并以同样的或更大的规模采用这些机器和分工”。由于超额剩余价值只在竞争的动态过程中短暂存在，一旦新的生产方式在同一部门被普遍采用，超额剩余价值就会消失。但是，只要不形成完全垄断结构和实施人为的垄断政策保护，那么这种以生产方式创新与劳动生产率提高为基础的动态竞争就不会停止，而是不断在新的水平上一轮一轮地展开。其次，生产方式变革导致传统的生产方式解体。生产方式变革把“劳动场地变成了战场”,它“在哪一个工业部门被采用，就不容许任何旧的生产方法在那里和它并存”。而大工业和世界市场的形成使得这种斗争更加普遍，也更为剧烈。“在资本家和资本家之间，在工业部门和工业部门之间以及国家和国家之间，生死存亡都取决于天然的或人为的生产条件的优劣。”

Fourth, government intervention is the “catalyst” for the accelerated application of new modes of production.

第四，政府干预是新的生产方式加速应用的“催化剂”。

In *Capital*, Marx discusses the stimulating effect that the enforcement of factory legislation had on the use of machinery. On the one hand, “the compulsory limitation of the working day, the regular intervals for rest, the system of relays for children, the prohibition of the employment of all children under a certain age, etc.” compelled the adoption of more machinery. On the other hand, “in order to win back in space what was lost in time, there had to be an expansion of the means of production that were used in common … a greater concentration of the means of production, and, corresponding to this, a greater aggregation of workers.” Furthermore, the regulation of workers’ rest periods meant that the labour process would be periodically interrupted; this periodic interruption created uncertainty in production outcomes, which stimulated certain industries to adopt new machinery in order to control the rhythm of the labour process. In short, the enforcement of factory legislation accelerated the development of the factory system of production.

在《资本论》中，马克思讨论了工厂法的推行给机器使用所带来的刺激作用。一方面，“强制规定工作日的长度、休息时间、上下工时间，实行儿童的换班制度，禁止使用一切未满一定年龄的儿童等等”,要求采用更多的机器。另一方面，“为了从空间上夺回在时间上失去的东西，就要扩充共同使用的生产资料……要使生产资料在更大程度上集中起来，并与此相适应，使工人在更大程度上集结起来”。另外，对工人休息时间的规定，意味着劳动过程会周期地停顿下来，周期性停顿造成了生产结果的不确定，这就刺激了某些行业采用新的机器，以控制劳动过程的节奏。总之，工厂法的推行加速了工厂生产的发展进程。

Fifth, the deepening of the division of labour through specialization promotes the extension of the new mode of production to the entire social production system.

第五，专业化分工深化促进新的生产方式扩展至整个社会生产体系。

The social production system is an organic whole formed by the interconnections among the various sectors of the social economy. A change in the mode of production in one sector will extend to other sectors through the linkage effects of the upstream and downstream industrial chain. This primarily “involves those branches of industry which are isolated by the social division of labour, each producing an independent commodity, yet which are closely interconnected as phases of a total process … machine spinning made machine weaving necessary, and both together made necessary the mechanical and chemical revolution in bleaching, printing, and dyeing. On the other hand, the revolution in cotton spinning called forth the invention of the cotton gin … But the revolution in the modes of production of industry and agriculture made necessary a revolution in the general conditions of the social production process, i.e., the means of communication and transport … But now, for the forging, welding, cutting, boring, and shaping of huge masses of iron, enormous machines were required.” The application of the new mode of production brought about an immense increase in productive forces, promoted a higher level of specialization of the means of production and the decomposition of the production process; intermediate production links continuously differentiated and became independent; entirely new production sectors and fields of labour were formed; social production became more diversified; and the capacity of the social division of labour system was expanded.

社会生产体系是由社会经济各部门相互联系构成的有机整体。一个部门的生产方式变革会通过产业链上下游的关联效应扩展至其他部门。这主要“涉及因社会分工而孤立起来以致各自生产一种独立的商品、但又作为一个总过程的各阶段而紧密联系在一起的那些工业部门……有了机器纺纱，就必须有机器织布，而这二者又使漂白业、印花业和染色业必须进行力学和化学革命。同样，另一方面，棉纺业的革命又引起分离棉花纤维和棉籽的轧棉机的发明……但是，工农业生产方式的革命，尤其使社会生产过程的一般条件即交通运输手段的革命成为必要……但是，现在要对巨大的铁块进行锻冶、焊接、切削、镗孔和成型，又需要有庞大的机器”。新的生产方式应用使得生产力得到无比巨大的增长，促进了生产手段专业化水平的提高以及生产过程的分解，中间生产环节不断分化和独立化，一些全新的生产部门和劳动领域形成起来，社会生产变得更加多样化，社会分工体系的容量得以扩充。

In summary, the generation and application of a new mode of production undergoes a developmental process from quantitative to qualitative change, from the partial to the whole, from instability to stability, from initial establishment to a dominant position throughout society. First, supported by certain economic relations and driven by the transformation of the means of labour in individual enterprises, a new mode of production germinates. Then, under the effect of the law of value, it spreads within the same industry; with the addition of policy factors, its application accelerates, forming a partial qualitative change. Finally, the change in the mode of production in one sector triggers a chain reaction, reshaping and renewing the entire production system. When the new mode of production takes hold of the main production sectors of the national economy, it transforms into “the general, socially dominant form of the production process,”[8]584 and at the same time raises the overall level of productive forces to a new height.

总之，新的生产方式生成和应用，会经历一个从量变到质变、从局部到整体、从不稳固到稳固、从初步确立到在全社会范围内占统治地位的发展过程。首先，在一定的经济关系支撑下，以个别企业的劳动资料变革为动力，新的生产方式萌生。然后在价值规律的作用下在同行业扩散，在政策因素的加持下加速应用，形成局部质变。最后，一个部门的生产方式变革引起链式反应，重塑和更新整个生产体系。当新的生产方式掌握国民经济的主要生产部门时，它就转变为“生产过程的普遍的、在社会上占统治地位的形式”,[8]584同时也把总的生产力水平提高到一个新的高度。

IV. Promoting the Development of New Quality Productive Forces with a High-Quality Mode of Production

四、以高质量生产方式推动新质生产力发展

The large-scale, standardized mode of production that is dominant in China’s enterprises was “formed during the golden period of world economic growth, oriented towards foreign demand and the domestic high-speed growth phase.” It has the following characteristics: First, immense production capacity. In 2010, the added value of China’s manufacturing industry surpassed that of the United States for the first time, making China the world’s largest manufacturing country, a position it has held steadily for many years since. Second, excessive reliance on foreign capital and “foreign technology” (referring to technology from abroad), with many core technologies and key links being controlled by others. Third, high consumption and high carbon emissions. Growth achieved through large-scale input of labour, capital, and natural resources has led to excessive resource consumption and a decline in environmental carrying capacity. Fourth, a large-scale export orientation. From 1978 to 2018, China’s merchandise export value increased by 979 times. Since 2009, China has been the world’s largest exporter of merchandise goods for many consecutive years, and its export markets are mainly concentrated in developed countries and regions such as Europe, the United States, and Japan. At the same time, the domestic market has been underdeveloped.

我国企业中占主导地位的大规模、标准化生产方式，是在“世界经济增长黄金期面向国外需求以及国内高速增长阶段形成的”,它具有如下特征：一是生产能力庞大。2010年我国制造业增加值首次超过美国，成为全球制造业第一大国，此后连续多年稳居世界第一。二是过度依赖外资和“外技”(指国外技术),不少核心技术和关键环节受制于人。三是高消耗、高碳排放。通过大规模地投入劳动、资本和自然资源实现增长，造成了资源的过度消耗和环境承载能力下降。四是大规模出口导向。1978～2018年，我国货物出口额增长了979倍。2009年起，我国已连续多年稳居全球货物贸易第一大出口国地位，并且，我国的出口市场主要集中在欧、美、日等发达国家和地区。与此同时，国内市场开发不足。

The large-scale, standardized mode of production was built on the basis of low factor costs, an open and stable global industrial and supply chain, and sustained growth in overseas demand, especially import demand from developed economies. However, since 2008, none of these three supporting factors can be sustained. First, with rising labour costs and increasing constraints from resources and the environment, the era of winning through cheap factor costs has passed. Second, the 2008 international financial crisis severely impacted Western developed countries, and global aggregate demand has remained persistently sluggish. Third, with the collective rise of Southern countries represented by China, some Western countries are attempting to hinder China’s technological progress and industrial upgrading process through trade protectionism and decoupling and severing supply chains, severely impacting the global industrial and supply chains. Therefore, we must seek a transformation from the traditional mode of production to a new quality mode of production, using a more advanced, high-quality mode of production to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces.

大规模、标准化生产方式建立在低要素成本、全球产业链供应链开放稳定以及海外需求特别是发达经济体的进口需求持续增长的基础上。然而，2008年以来，这三大支撑因素均无法维持下去。首先，随着劳动力成本上升，资源环境约束增大，依靠廉价要素成本取胜的时代已经过去；其次，2008年国际金融危机严重冲击了西方发达国家，全球总需求持续低迷；最后，随着以我国为代表的南方国家的集体崛起，一些西方国家企图通过贸易保护主义和脱钩断链，阻止我国的技术进步和产业升级进程，严重冲击了全球产业链供应链。因此，我们必须寻求从传统生产方式向新质生产方式转变，以更加先进的高质量生产方式推动新质生产力加快发展。

First, promote the iterative upgrading of the means of labour.

第一，推动劳动资料的迭代升级。

Since reform and opening up, we have achieved rapid economic catch-up by leveraging comparative advantages and latecomer advantages, and we are now firmly the world’s second-largest economy. However, we have not yet shed our “dependency” on core technologies;[24] insufficient independent innovation capability has become the “Achilles’ heel” constraining high-quality development. In modern times, the four countries that have successively risen to global influence—Britain, Germany, the United States, and Japan—were all supported by strong scientific and technological innovation capabilities.[25] Marx pointed out: “It is not what is made but how, and by what instruments of labour, that distinguishes different economic epochs. Instruments of labour not only supply a standard of the degree of development to which human labour has attained, but they also indicate the social relations within which men work.”[8]210 The core of technological revolution and industrial transformation is the revolution in the mode of production, and the transformation of the mode of production takes the use and popularization of new quality means of production as its starting point.[13]13 The original text contains a superscript reference marker [13] here, but the corresponding note is not provided in the source material. ① The original text contains a footnote marker ① here, but the corresponding footnote text is not provided in the source material. Both the First and Second Industrial Revolutions were substitutions of machines for physical labour. However, the Third Industrial Revolution involves a qualitative change in the nature of machines in a broad sense, namely, the substitution of artificial intelligence systems for mental labour.[26] Intelligence, automation, and digitalization will drive the networked and distributed development of the production landscape; flexible production and personalized customization will become mainstream; supply can respond quickly to complex and volatile market demands. Therefore, we must leverage the superiority of the socialist system in concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks, improve the new type of nationwide system for mobilizing resources, accelerate the seizure of the commanding heights of the new round of technological and industrial revolution, and create more intelligent and efficient new types of production tools.

改革开放以来，我们通过发挥比较优势和后发优势实现了经济的快速追赶，目前稳居世界第二大经济体地位，但是尚未摆脱核心技术的“依附性”,[24]自主创新能力不足已经成为制约高质量发展的“阿喀琉斯之踵”。近代以来，英、德、美、日这四个先后崛起的有世界性影响的国家，无不是以强大的科技创新能力为支撑的。[25]马克思指出：“各种经济时代的区别，不在于生产什么，而在于怎样生产，用什么劳动资料生产。劳动资料不仅是人类劳动力发展的测量器，而且是劳动借以进行的社会关系的指示器。”[8]210技术革命和产业变革的核心是生产方式革命，而生产方式的变革又以新质生产资料的使用和推广为出发点。[13]第一次工业革命与第二次工业革命都是机器对体力劳动的替代。但是，第三次工业革命则是广义的机器性质的质变，即人工智能系统替代脑力劳动。[26]智能化、自动化、数字化将驱动生产格局网络化、分布式发展，柔性化生产、个性化定制将占据主流，供给可以对复杂多变的市场需求快速作出反应。因此，我们要发挥社会主义制度集中力量办大事的优越性，健全新型举国体制，加快占领新一轮技术革命和产业革命的制高点，创造出更加智能高效的新型生产工具。

Second, integrate Party leadership into corporate governance.

第二，把党的领导落实到企业治理之中。

Party leadership is the essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The Party’s leadership over economic development must not only be reflected at the macro level in setting directions, planning overall situations, formulating policies, and promoting reform, but must also be implemented at the micro level in corporate governance. “Just as in the people’s army, Party branches must be established at the company level, so too must the socialist market economy establish Party organizations within enterprises.”[27] Party organizations should be embedded into the corporate governance structure, leveraging the guiding role of Party organizations over other governance entities, and transforming Party leadership into the competitive advantage of the enterprise.

党的领导是中国特色社会主义的本质特征。党领导经济发展不仅要体现在宏观层面的把方向、谋大局、定政策、促改革上，而且要落实到微观层面的企业治理之中。“正如在人民军队中党支部要建立在连队上一样，社会主义市场经济也必须将党组织建立在企业中。”[27]要把党组织嵌入企业治理结构之中，发挥党组织对其他治理主体的引领作用，把党的领导转化为企业的竞争优势。

Third, adhere to the guidance of the new development philosophy.

第三，坚持以新发展理念为引领。

The mode of production embodies the social purpose of production, and the social purpose of production reflects the essence of social relations of production. Capitalist production is a type of production carried out for value and surplus value. All methods for increasing the social productive forces of labour are simultaneously methods for producing relative surplus value. Capital is the “absorbent and appropriator of the social productive forces of labour and of general social productive forces (such as science).”[14]14 Karl Marx, Capital, Vol. 1, in Marx and Engels Collected Works, Vol. 23, p. 364. [Translator’s note: This is a standard citation format; the specific edition may vary.] The social productive forces of labour promoted by the specific capitalist mode of production all manifest as the productive forces of capital. In the communist society envisioned by Marx, social production can not only “guarantee all members of society a rich and increasingly abundant material life, but also guarantee the full free development and application of their physical and intellectual faculties.”[15]15 Friedrich Engels, Anti-Dühring, in Marx and Engels Collected Works, Vol. 20, p. 307. [Translator’s note: Standard citation format.] Entering the new development stage of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, developing new quality productive forces means the mode of production will inevitably possess properties and characteristics different from the past. The new development concept embodies the people-centered development thought and is a systematic guiding principle for realizing Chinese-path modernization.[29]29 The original text references note [29] but the note content is not provided in the source material. [Translator’s note: Placeholder for missing note content.] The transformation of the mode of production requires guidance from the new development concept. The new mode of production will be one that maximally satisfies the growing, continuously upgrading, and individualized needs of the broad masses for material culture, ecological environment, and life safety, gradually achieving comprehensive sharing and common prosperity.[30]30 The original text references note [30] but the note content is not provided in the source material. [Translator’s note: Placeholder for missing note content.]

生产方式体现着社会的生产目的，而社会生产目的体现了社会生产关系的本质。资本主义生产是一种为价值和剩余价值而进行的生产。一切提高社会劳动生产力的方法，同时也是进行相对剩余价值生产的方法。资本是“社会劳动生产力和一般社会生产力(如科学)的吸收者和占有者”。特殊资本主义生产方式所推动的劳动社会生产力，都表现为资本的生产力。在马克思设想的共产主义社会，社会生产不仅可能“保证一切社会成员有富足的和一天比一天充裕的物质生活，而且还可能保证他们的体力和智力获得充分的自由的发展和运用”。进入全面建设社会主义现代化国家的新发展阶段，发展新质生产力，生产方式必然具有不同以往的性质和特征。新发展理念体现了以人民为中心的发展思想，是实现中国式现代化的系统性指导原则。[29]生产方式变革需要新发展理念来引领。新的生产方式将是一种最大限度地满足广大人民日益增长的、不断升级和个性化的物质文化、生态环境和生命安全的需要，逐步达到全面共享、共同富裕的生产方式。[30]

Fourth, vigorously develop the mixed-ownership economy.

第四，大力发展混合所有制经济。

The mode of production is not only the method of utilizing and organizing productive forces, but also the carrier and form of realization of relations of production. In fact, which specific mode of production is chosen is, to a considerable extent, determined by the specific socio-economic relations.[20]20 The original text references note [20] but the note content is not provided in the source material. [Translator’s note: The original Chinese text contains a note marker [20] without corresponding note content in the provided paragraphs. This note is retained as a placeholder.] For example, the lean production mode of Japanese automobile enterprises was formed within “quasi-community enterprises.” The so-called “quasi-community enterprise” refers to a situation where long-serving employees (rather than shareholders in the general sense) effectively possess ownership of the enterprise, and the enterprise effectively provides lifelong employment to its employees. Since reform and opening up, China has formed the socialist basic economic system, which takes public ownership as the mainstay and allows diverse forms of ownership to develop side by side, takes distribution according to work as the mainstay and allows multiple modes of distribution to coexist, and includes the socialist market economy system. The Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC pointed out: “The mixed-ownership economy, where state-owned capital, collective capital, non-public capital, etc., hold cross-shareholdings and integrate with each other, is an important form of realization of the basic economic system.”[32]32 “Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reform,” adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC, November 12, 2013. The mixed-ownership economy is conducive to leveraging the advantages of various forms of capital. It is not only an important force for strengthening China’s comprehensive national power and promoting economic and social development, but also plays a demonstrative role in technological innovation, organizational innovation, and conceptual innovation. Since reform and opening up, in the fields of intra-enterprise organizational forms and inter-enterprise organizational forms, China’s industrialization process has already seen practical explorations represented by economic democracy and cross-ownership co-opetition, which preliminarily possess the nature of paradigm shift.[33]33 The original text references note [33] but the note content is not provided in the source material. [Translator’s note: Placeholder for missing note content.] It can be foreseen that, driven by the new generation of digital technology and the new development concept, Chinese enterprises will achieve breakthrough innovations in their modes of production.

生产方式不仅是生产力的利用和组织方式，而且是生产关系的载体和实现形式。实际上，究竟选择什么样的生产方式，在相当程度上决定于特定的社会经济关系。[20]16例如，日本汽车企业的精益生产方式是在“准共同体企业”之中形成的。所谓“准共同体企业”指长期供职于企业的从业员工(而不是一般意义上的股东)在事实上拥有企业的所有权，企业事实上对从业员工提供了终身雇佣。改革开放以来，我国形成了以公有制为主体、多种所有制经济共同发展，按劳分配为主体、多种分配方式并存，社会主义市场经济体制等社会主义基本经济制度。党的十八届三中全会指出：“国有资本、集体资本、非公有资本等交叉持股、相互融合的混合所有制经济，是基本经济制度的重要实现形式。”混合所有制经济，有利于发挥各种形态资本的优势，不仅是壮大我国综合国力、促进经济社会发展的重要力量，而且在技术创新、组织创新和理念创新方面发挥了示范作用。改革开放以来，我国的工业化进程在企业内组织形态和企业间组织形态领域，已经分别出现了以经济民主和跨所有制竞合为代表，初步具有范式变迁性质的实践探索。[33]可以预见，在新一代数字技术与新发展理念的推动下，我国企业将会在生产方式上实现突破性创新。

Fifth, build a high-level socialist market economy system.

第五，构建高水平社会主义市场经济体制。

The socialist market economy system is an important component of the socialist basic economic system and an important institutional guarantee for advancing Chinese-path modernization. Combining socialism with the market economy is a great social practice. Promoting Chinese-path modernization with a high-quality mode of production inevitably requires making good use of various types of high-quality innovation resources, realizing the innovative allocation and optimized combination of labourers, means of labour, and subjects of labour. At the same time, the rapid emergence of high-quality business entities also requires a mature market for support. Independent innovation is constrained by the scope of the market. By building a high-level socialist market economy system and unifying the national unified large market, the division of labour system can be further deepened, the expansion of market scale can be promoted, and production costs and transaction costs can be reduced. Under a high-level market economy system, the innovation vitality of enterprises will be fully stimulated, and the degree of technological progress and production efficiency can also be continuously improved.

社会主义市场经济体制是社会主义基本经济制度的重要组成部分，是推进中国式现代化的重要制度保障。把社会主义与市场经济结合起来，是一场伟大的社会实践。以高质量的生产方式推进中国式现代化，必然要求利用好各类优质创新资源，实现劳动者、劳动资料、劳动对象的创新性配置与优化组合。与此同时，高质量经营主体的快速涌现，也需要成熟的市场来支撑。自主创新受市场范围的限制。通过构建高水平社会主义市场经济体制，统一全国大市场，可以进一步深化分工体系，促进市场规模扩大，降低生产成本和交易成本。在高水平市场经济体制下，企业的创新活力将得到充分激发，技术进步的程度和生产效率也能够不断提升。

V. Remaining Discussion

五、余 论

Entering the new development stage, to advance Chinese-path modernization, it is necessary to simultaneously promote the mode of production to develop towards a higher-level and more advanced qualitative state. Developing new quality productive forces includes not only changes at the technological and industrial levels, but also involves the adjustment of related relations of production and the optimization of the national governance system. Therefore, it is a revolution in the mode of production occurring in the digital age. The world is currently in a new period of turbulence and transformation, with various forces dividing and regrouping. The “rise of the East and decline of the West” intensifies competition and gaming between major powers. The underlying logic of major power competition is actually competition between different modes of production. It is precisely the differences in modes of production that determine the position of different countries and regions in the world economy. In other words, whoever can seize the opportunity and take the lead in realizing a revolution in the mode of production will gain strategic initiative in the changes unseen in a century. Historically, the economic catch-up of Britain, the United States, and Japan all witnessed revolutions in the mode of production. As a late-developing country, only by developing an original high-quality material mode of production while adhering to the socialist basic economic system can China truly complete the leap over the capitalist “Caudine Forks”[34]34 “Caudine Forks” (Caudium Furculae) refers to a pass in ancient Samnium (near modern Benevento, Italy) where the Roman army was forced to surrender to the Samnites in 321 BCE. Marx used the term “Caudine Forks” metaphorically to describe a difficult historical transition or a forced passage through a narrow and humiliating path. Here, “leaping over the capitalist ‘Caudine Forks’” alludes to the Marxist concept of a society bypassing the capitalist stage of development, drawing on Marx’s discussion of the possibility of Russia avoiding capitalism by building on the peasant commune. and achieve catch-up with developed countries. At the same time, the transformation of the material mode of production will lay a solid economic foundation for creating a new form of human civilization centered on the people.

进入新发展阶段，推进中国式现代化，必须同时推动生产方式向更高级、更先进的质态发展。发展新质生产力，不仅包括技术层面和产业层面的变革，而且涉及与之相关的生产关系调整和国家治理体系的优化，因而它是一场发生在数字时代的生产方式革命。当前世界正处于新的动荡变革期，各种力量分化组合，“东升西降”推动大国之间的竞争和博弈加剧。大国竞争的底层逻辑实际上是不同生产方式之间的竞争，正是生产方式的差异才决定了不同国家和地区在世界经济中的位置。换言之，谁能抓住先机并率先实现生产方式革命，谁就能在百年大变局中赢得战略主动。历史上，英美日的经济赶超都曾出现了生产方式革命。作为后发国家，我国只有在坚持社会主义基本经济制度的前提下，发展出具有原创性的高质量物质生产方式，才算在真正意义上完成对资本主义“卡夫丁峡谷”的跨越，并实现对发达国家的赶超。与此同时，物质生产方式的变革将为创造以人民为中心的人类文明新形态奠定坚实的经济基础。

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