Edit: there are some minor mistakes with the title and the text in the meme indicating that it's Lego, not duplo...

Don't be pedantic; that's what ruined Reddit in the first place.

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[–] 13 points 1 year ago (16 children)

What does “means of production” even mean in 2025? It’s not like we all work in a shoe factory

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (12 children)

    Something that produces goods or services.

    For example, a musician makes music as a service, and that music can be made into a commodity either with a packaged good such as a book of sheet music or a method of storing the music (a file or disc), or you can sell tickets to hear the music.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (11 children)

    Im a condo superintendent, so I don’t really produce anything. I just look at your leaky roof, nod and call a guy.

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  • You do provide a service though. Do the people who own the apartments actively do anything in particular that makes sense for them to own it completely?

    Who do you think would have a more vested interest in running the apartments in a functional and efficient manner, the people maintaining the buildings or the people who see it as one of their many investment properties.

    Socialism isn't just about what's fair, it's also about creating a more efficient system to distribute labour and resources.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    So the condo association here is the 'means of production' since they're providing housing services. Ideally, it'd be owned by the workers (who would ideally also be condo owners) and they'd split any profits evenly.

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  • [+] -6 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    Ah, Landlords aren't the evil capitalist class then. They're just a worker that owns the means of production and splits the profits evenly with themselves.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Maybe there's a terminology problem, but I thought each condo unit was individually owned? Like, if you've got a tower block, and everybody owns their own domicile within it, it's a condo, but if they're owned by a landlord and rented out, it's an apartment.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    It was a tongue in cheek strawman or if you want to be fancy, a pedagogical tool.

    If "providing housing" is a job/service/whatever produced by workers then I, as a theoretical landlord, own some means of production and split the profits with all of the workers: myself.

    It seemed like a funny twist of words.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    You do produce a lack of issue. Like there was an issue, then you make it not an issue.

    What would be the means of production? I am uncertain.

    • Even in communist paradise, we will have building superintendents.
    • On the other hand, owning one's own home might be the means of production in this sense.
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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    What does “means of production” even mean

    In Marxist theory, the "means of production" refers to the physical inputs used to produce goods and services. This includes things like tools, machinery, land, raw materials, and factories. Essentially, it's everything needed to carry out the process of production, excluding human labo

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