A POSTCAPITALIST PARADIGM: THE COMMON GOOD OF ...

3 Social and political collective organization
SOME MEMORIES OF THE FUTURE
BIRGIT DAIBER
“In the social production of their existence, people inevitably
enter into definite relations which are independent of their will, namely
relations of production appropriate to a given stage in the development
of their material forces of production. The totality of these relations of
production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real foun-
dation, upon which arises a legal and political superstructure, and
which corresponds to certain societal forms of consciousness. The
mode of production of material life determines the general process of
social, political and intellectual life. It is not the consciousness of people
that determines their existence, but rather their social existence that
deter mines their consciousness.”
Karl Marx, Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy. 111
In our discussion on the common goods of humankind, we address the
basic needs of humankind in the context of democratization, socio-ecological
transformation, and overcoming the capitalist system. We are
dealing with the capitalist mode of production and the relations of production.
The state of the development of the forces of production – in
general terms: the material composition of the relationship between humankind
and nature – is an essential element of this process; in general
terms: the material composition of the relationship between humankind
and nature. In the capitalist mode of production, this relationship is determined
by exploitation. At the same time, changes are coming about
which have implications reaching beyond the capitalist system.
111 http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1859/critique-pol-economy/pref-
ace.htm; translation edited.
183