New quality productive forces and their formation and development from a political economy perspective

Purpose This study aims to explore new quality productive forces represent categorical innovation and a terminological revolution in the Marxist political economy. Productive forces constitute the material productive capacity realized by factors of production under specific relations of production and should not be confused with the productiveness of labor or factor capabilities. Design/methodology/approach The category of productive forces in political economy reflects the material and technological attributes of production while embodying socio-historical characteristics. The development of productive forces encompasses both qualitative and quantitative transformation. The essence of qualitative transformation in productive forces lies in bringing about fundamental changes in the modes of production (the modes of labor) through variations in factors and their combinations, thereby promoting and accelerating the formation of new relations of production and ways of life. Findings The technological history has demonstrated that new general-purpose technologies and leading sectors are significant manifestations of qualitative transformation in productive forces. Orginality/value The smooth development of new quality productive forces relies on “creative destruction” to achieve “orderly retreat” through “creative transformation.”