Development of the Forces of Production

The prevailing Marxist perspective is that unless underdeveloped societies undergoing the transition to socialism rapidly develop their forces of production (both human and material resources), they can only aspire to a "socialism of poverty" (Mandel 1968:610). This perspective is based upon the premise that the forces of production in these societies are so inadequate that they can neither provide the abundance of goods needed to satisfy the basic needs of the population nor make possible the full development of the intellectual and physical abilities of the individual members of the population (Mandel 1968:610-611). Therefore the transition to socialism must involve what has been called "socialist accumulation" (Mandel 1968:611; Castaños 1977:67-76). Generally speaking, this accumulation involves setting aside a substantial proportion of the national income for investment in the expansion and development of the forces of production.