Anyone understand Marx's concept of "bourgeois productive forms"?

Question

I am having a difficult time understanding one line from "The Class Struggles in France" :

"Such a revolution is only possible in the periods when both these factors, the modern productive forces and the bourgeois productive forms, come into collision with one another."

My sticking point lies in the phrase "bourgeois productive forms" which, of course, Marx doesn't care to define. A classmate suggested that he was referring to bourgeois political institutions (with modern productive forces being bourgeois economic institutions), but I am really unsure.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I am not looking for a general description of Marx's theory of class conflict; rather, the specific meaning of the phrase "bourgeois productive forms" as it applies to his analysis of 19th century France (i.e. the context of the essay in question...)

Answer 1

Actually Marx died before he got around to attempting certain definitions. I would not be surprised if this was one such aspect that was cheated through his death.

I shall attempt to decipher a possible meaning however in making a couple of (perhaps misinformed) substitutions.

bourgeois productive forms...

The bourgeois, put simply, are those who have control of the means of production and who exploit (with the word 'exploit' loosely placed) the proletariat (who do not exploit others to control the means of production but rather are an aspect of the means of production in themselves (labour)).

The productive forms could 'possibly' (as I am unsure whether my interpretation is correct) be substituted with the term 'productive means' (or forces). If so then the means of production refer to the "technology and work patterns men and women use to exploit their environment to meet their needs"

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Ok... now I'm getting confused myself. I interprete "bourgeois productive forms" as being the means of production generated by the bourgeois... to be representative of capital production methods such as plant and machinery...

However it does not account for the "modern productive forces" which also appears to refer to plant and machinery...

So I shall take a step back and see what 'would' make sense. It makes more sense for the "bourgious productive forces" to represent the means provided through the exploition of the proletariat.

Then it would make some sense as human labour forces and capital investment employers would be at a conflict over resources.

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I know that it is not a solid answer but I hope that helps some...

Answer 2

nothing will change until workers control the means of production