Set of material forces that allow the transformation of Nature by the human species within the framework of a given mode of production. The main productive forces are always human labor and knowledge embodied in means of production through technology.
Development of the productive forces
The development of the productive forces is measured by the potential capacity to transform the environment. That is, by the average physical productivity of labor, the amount of output that one hour of abstract social labor is capable of adding, that is, an average hour under the normal conditions of production prevailing in a society and with the average social degree of skill and intensity of labor.