Carrol Cox:> The passages in Marx in which he speaks of social relations fettering the productive capacity are somewhat scattered, not well developed, and many marxists see them as a form of technological determinism, incompatible with the overall thrust of Marx's thought.<
I don't see why the references to "fettering" should be rejected. In simple terms, Marx's theory involves three parts: 1. a mode of production generates a specific quality and quantity of the growth of the forces of production, differing from that of other modes of production. Application: capitalism generates relatively rapid growth of the forces of production, centered on lowering labor costs. 2. There is no reason why the forces of production _generated by_ the mode of production will be exactly the same as those needed to reproduce that mode of production over time. Application: capitalism isn't a planned system and thus generates growth that can break the "reproduction conditions" and disrupt social harmony. 3. This conflict -- or fettering -- leads to crises, conflict, along with quantitative and qualitative change in the mode of production. Point 1 represents the "sociological determinist" part, while point 3 represents the allegedly technological determinist part. JD
