The key question that emerges from this week’s topics is: Why do we work. Whereas there are numerous reasons on why people work, the basic reasons on why people work is pegged on the desire to satisfy human needs. In this regard, human beings engage in work in order to be able to access their basic needs such as clothing, shelter and food among others. Importantly, where this is the case, there is a need to observe that meeting these basic needs does not begin with seeking out for them but rather it begins with the organisation of men in relation to nature. According to Karl Marx, such organisation is necessary not only to distinguish men from the rest of society but also to create a platform to produce the necessary means that would be necessary to satisfy the human needs (Marx 1970, 48). From this definition of human beings work, it is clear that it is impossible to satisfy the needs that first create the necessity for work without creating or rather establishing the means for production. This means that human beings would be unable to satisfy their needs if they lack the means of production.
本周话题中出现的关键问题是：我们为什么要工作。尽管人们工作的原因有很多，但人们工作的基本原因在于满足人类需求的愿望。在这方面，人们从事工作是为了能够获得衣食住行等基本需要。重要的是，在这种情况下，需要注意的是，满足这些基本需求并不是从寻找它们开始的，而是从人与自然的关系开始的。根据卡尔·马克思（Karl Marx）的观点，这样的组织是必要的，不仅是为了将人与社会其他人区分开来，也是为了创造一个平台来生产满足人类需求所必需的必要手段（马克思，1970，48）。从人类工作的这一定义中，很明显，如果不创造或不建立生产手段，就不可能满足首先创造工作必要性的需求。这意味着，如果缺乏生产手段，人类将无法满足其需求。
One of the critical aspects concerning the means of productions and how they have been instrumental in helping human beings satisfy their needs is the fact that they have gone through significant transformation of years. In this regard, despite the fact that the basic needs of human beings have not changed significantly, the means of production have experienced a high level of evolution. This is particularly the case considering the fact that human beings are always working towards promoting efficiency as well as increasing the level of their production capacity. Therefore, this has contributed to the redefining on the way man is organised, as well as the tools he uses in his production activities, thus creating different modes of production in different generations.
关于生产手段以及生产手段如何有助于帮助人类满足其需求的一个关键方面是，多年来，生产手段经历了重大转变。在这方面，尽管人类的基本需求没有发生重大变化，但生产手段经历了高度的演变。考虑到人类总是致力于提高效率和提高其生产能力水平，情况尤其如此。因此，这有助于重新定义人的组织方式，以及他在生产活动中使用的工具，从而在不同的时代创造不同的生产模式。
To begin with, the earlier mode of production is commonly referred to as the slave mode of production. In reference to Anderson (1975), the slave mode of production involved men turning their fellow men into instruments of production. In this regard, the men who were turned into production instruments in society were stripped off their rights and privileges as men, and as such, they were supposed to work just the way beasts could work. Most of these men worked in both large and small plantations depending on the production capacity of their masters. Apart from being stripped their rights, the men who worked as slaves were in many cases traded in markets such as commodities. In this case, a person in society could buy or sell a slave in society at a particular price (Anderson 1975). One of the critical aspects that emerge from the analysis of this mode of production regards the importance of work in society. Arguably, the turning of men into slaves point to the fact that work is of critical importance to the point that men go at great lengths to accomplish it as a way to satisfy their needs.
首先，早期的生产模式通常被称为从属生产模式。在安德森（1975）的著作中，奴隶生产模式是指男人将他们的同伴变成生产工具。在这方面，在社会上成为生产工具的人被剥夺了作为人的权利和特权，因此，他们应该像野兽一样工作。这些人中的大多数在大小种植园工作，这取决于他们主人的生产能力。除了被剥夺权利外，这些奴隶在许多情况下还在商品等市场上交易。在这种情况下，社会上的人可以以特定的价格在社会上买卖奴隶（Anderson 1975）。从对这种生产方式的分析中得出的一个关键方面是工作在社会中的重要性。可以说，把人变成奴隶表明了这样一个事实：工作是至关重要的，因为人们为了满足自己的需要而竭尽全力去完成它。