Law of the Priority Growth of the Production of Means of Production, an economic law of expanded social reproduction on the basis of machine technology objectively requiring priority development of the production of means of production rather than the production of consumer goods. This law, discovered by Marx in relation to capitalist expanded reproduction, was further theoretically substantiated and expounded in Lenin’s works. Analysing the process of expanded reproduction under the conditions of technical progress, Lenin showed that not only did Department I as a whole develop more rapidly than Department II, but also that, within Department I, priority growth was observed in the production of means of production for Department I, with the production of means of production for Department II as a whole coming second and Department II developing at a slower rate. The need for the priority growth of the production of means of production is explained by the fact that, to ensure the expansion of production and the growth of the aggregate social product, including consumer goods, it is first of all necessary to produce implements and objects of labour, that is to say, means of production. "To expand production (to ‘accumulate’ in the categorical meaning of the term) it is first of all necessary to produce means of production,” Lenin wrote, "and for this it is consequently necessary to expand that department of social production which manufactures means of production" (V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 2, p. 155). Priority development of the production of means of production ensures progressive changes in the structure of the economy, accelerates technological development and serves as the groundwork for the growth of social labour productivity. Under capitalism, the operation of this law sharpens the contradictions between production and consumption. In the final analysis, the limited bounds of the working people’s consumption also check the growth of the production of means of production. The cyclical nature of capitalist production causes the growing production of Department I during a boom to be followed by sharp cuts during a crisis. Under socialism, the law of the priority growth of the production of means of production is used by society on a planned basis to ensure the continual growth of the social product. Priority growth of the production of means of production serves as the base for strengthening the economic might of the country and steadily raising the well-being of the people. The growth rates of the production of means of production and those of 198 the production of consumer goods are correlated, due account being taken of the specific historical conditions and the economic tasks tackled in the given period. Consequently, this balance between the two Departments of social production is not something constant or unchanging. At present the scientific and technological revolution is responsible for structural shifts within each Department of social production and in their interrelations. The more progressive industries, such as radio electronics, instrument-making, computer technology production and so on, are gaining prominence. The share of synthetic materials among the objects of labour is growing. The production of durables for personal consumption and quality products is developing faster than any other production within Department II. The rising asset-worker ratio results in an increase in the share of means of production and hence necessitates a speed-up in the growth of Department I. At the same time, an opposite tendency is also at work—the growing potential of heavy industry, better quality of modern means of labour and the rising efficiency of socialist accumulation make it possible to reduce the gap between the growth rates of the two Departments. It should also be borne in mind that scientific and technical progress accounts for the fact that the means of production are becoming ever more economical and that their value is dropping, which makes it possible to produce the same amount of means of production with smaller labour and capital inputs. As some materials are replaced by other, more progressive ones, production becomes less material intensive (see Material Intensity). In this way, the high scientific and technological potential of developed socialist society makes it possible to bring the growth rates of the two Departments of social production somewhat closer together. This, in turn, forcefully illustrates the radical economic shift towards meeting the material and cultural needs of the people more and more fully. Nevertheless, this in no way refutes the general law of the priority growth of the production of means of production.