p The material and technical basis is the sum total of the implements and means of labour which man uses to produce the necessities of life. Moreover, it is an important index of the level of development reached by society.

When we speak of the progress of society we mean, primarily, the progress made in the building of its material and technical basis. Therefore, when we set forth the tasks involved in building the most progressive society on earth—communist society—we must begin with the ways and means of building its material and technical basis.