p While determined by the productive forces, pro_L auction relations themselves produce a determining impact on all other aspects of society. Political, juridical, ethic, aesthetic, reliflious and other views, as well as corresponding institutions, arise and develop on their basis and under their influence. In the light of this, production relations are considered the economic basis ot society, while the views and the corresponding institutions determined by them are considered society’s ’ superstructure.

p The relations of production and exchange, “the economic structure of society,” as Engels wrote, “always furnishes the real basis, starting from 349 which we can alone work out the ultimate explanation of the whole superstructure of juridical and political institutions as well as of the religious, philosophical, and other ideas of a given historical period".  [349•1 

p The basis consists not only of the production relations that are dominant in the given period, but also of a mass of other production relations, in particular those left as survivals of the old mode of production, as well as those associated with the new economic structures developing within the given social system.

p Though the basis represents the sum-total of all the production relations at a given stage of society’s development, it is nevertheless connected with the dominating mode of production. The production relations conditioned by the dominant mode of production determine the nature of the economic basis and its essence, as well as that of the entire socio-economic formation.

p The most important feature of the economic basis is the fact that its essence is represented by the material relations that take shape irrespective of men’s conscience, in contrast to superstructural relations, which are ideological and originate in the human mind, and hence depend on people’s will.

p The basis relations are general for the given society, since all its citizens become involved in them. Indeed, by living in society every person in one way or another receives a definite portion 350 of the means of subsistence, and thus participates in the distribution of the material benefits produced in the society. Distribution is, of course, one element of the production relations. Besides, from the moment of his birth every person belongs to some social group or class, and thus becomes involved in definite relationships with other social groups or classes.

p In an antagonistic society the basis has a class character. Since the basis is the sum-total of all production relations based on private ownership of the means of production and on the principle of domination and subjugation, it ensures that one group of people appropriates the labour done by the other, and that some classes exploit others. This, in particular, distinguishes production relations from the productive forces. The productive forces are above class, since they serve both IRe old and the new classes equally, both bourgeois and socialist society. “The machine,” Marx wrote, “is no more an economic category than the ox which draws the plough... . But the way in which machinery is utilised is totally distinct from the machinery itself. Powder is powder whether used to wound a man or to dress his wounds.”  [350•1 

p Being determined by the level of development of the productive forces, the basis represents a kind of intermediate link between the productive forces and the superstructure. Neither the productive forces nor changes in them have a direct 351 influence on the superstructure or the political, juridical and other social ideas and corresponding institutions; this influence is indirect, through the basis. Hence, with the same level of development of the productive forces, different and sometimes even diametrically opposite superstructures may exist, for the productive forces that are equal in terms of their level of development may exist for a certain period of time in quite different social forms, and under different and sometimes even opposite production relations. For example, the productive forces in the Soviet Union and those in the USA are developed to approximately the same level, though in the USSR there are socialist production relations, while capitalist production relations reign in the United States. There is a corresponding socialist superstructure in the Soviet Union and a capitalist one in the United States.

p Consequently, the superstructure cannot be explained by the state of the productive forces. It, on the other hand, the economic basis, the sumtotal of the production relations within whicn the current state of the productive forces is realised, is taken as the ground cause, superstructural phenomena can be correctly explained.

p The above features ot production relations indicate their dominating role in the entire system of social linkages and relations.

p Having clarified the specific features of the economic basis, it is not difficult to determine those of the superstructure. The superstructure arising through definite production relations, i.e. the 352 basis, and representing the sum-total of the political, juridical, moral, aesthetic, religious and other ideas current in society, and the corresponding institutions, is not passive towards the basis which gave birth to it, but exerts an active influence on it.

p “Political, juridical, philosophical, religious, literary, artistic, etc., development is based on economic development,” Engels wrote. “But all these react upon one another and also upon the economic basis. It is not that the economic situation is cause, solely active, while everything else is only passive effect. There is, rather, interaction on the basis of economic necessity, which ultimately always asserts itself.”  [352•1 

p Since the superstructure is the sum-total of all ideas and corresponding institutions arising on the given basis, i.e. it incorporates the ideas and institutions of both the ruling and the oppressed classes, its influence upon the basis is not uniform, and may take not one but different and sometimes diametrically opposite directions. Indeed, the views and corresponding institutions of the ruling class, i.e. the class which dominates the given mode of production, are aimed at substantiating, consolidating and defending this basis. On the other hand, the ideas and corresponding institutions of the exploited class are aimed at undermining and demolishing the given economic structure of society and replacing it with a 353 new and more progressive system, as well as theoretically substantiating such a change. So in a class society the superstructure hff a f^ss character andjjecomes a battleground for a fierce class struggle reflecting the opposite economic interests that is determined and consolidated by the antagonistic basis.

p Though the superstructure of antagonistic society does contain the ideas and corresponding institutions of both the ruling and oppressed classes, it is nevertheless only the ideas and institutions of the ruling class that play the leading part jn_iL_S_p while referring to the role of the superstructure in any antagonistic society we must bear in mind these ideas and institutions of the ruling class.

In society the main role of the superstructure is to safeguard and consolidate the dominating basis, the dominating economic relations.