Theory of the Means of Production- Karl Marx

The theory of means of production is a Marxist invention and refers to physical inputs used in production models.  The means of production are broken down into two categories: One being the instruments of labor, which include tools, factories, and infrastructure. The second category is called the subjects of labor, which consists of natural resources, raw materials, and also humans be classified in this category.  An illustration of this is the plow and the soil.  Humans must use the instruments of labor in order to produce wealth.  Different societies of people, and economic classes use the means of production differently.  For example in the capitalist model, there exists an ownership of the means of production, what Marx would call the bourgeoisie.  An illustration of this would be a corporation, and the owners of the means of production would be the few people, such as c.e.o.s and c.f.o.s, who make the decisions what to do with the factors of production. 

The means of production, instruments of labor and subjects of labor, work with the means of distribution, which consists of banks, stores, and things of that nature.  How this is connected with the Matrix, revolves around the concept of the machines using humans as an energy source, or a means of production.  This image is the literal representation of what Marx refers to as what happens in a capitalist economy.  The objectification of human beings, or labor, as a means of production is consistent within the capitalist model.  Typically the humans use the machines, powered by electrical energy, to produce wealth, but the “real world” that is depicted in the movie The Matrix, it is the machines who use the humans as instruments of labor to power their lifestyle.