Distribution，accordingtothemostsuperficialinterpretation，isdistributionofproducts；itisthusremovedfartherfromproductionandmadequasi—independentofit。But，beforedistributionbecomesdistributionofproducts，itis（1）distributionofthemeansofproduction，and（2）（whichisanotheraspectofthesamesituation）distributionofthemembersofsocietyamongthevarioustypesofproduction（thesubsumingoftheindividualsunderdefiniterelationsofproduction）。
Itisevidentthatthedistributionofproductsismerelyaresultofthisdistribution——whichiscomprisedintheproductionprocessanddeterminesthestructureofproduction。Toexamineproductiondivorcedfromthisdistributionwhichisaconstituentpartofit，isobviouslyidleabstraction；whereasconverselythedistributionofproductsisautomaticallydeterminedbythatdistributionwhichformsaprimaryfactorofproduction。Ricardo，theeconomistofproduction_parexcellence_，whoseobjectwastheunderstandingofmodernproductionandofitsdistinctsocialstructure，forthisveryreasondeclaresthatdistribution，_not_production，isthepropersubjectofcontemporarypoliticaleconomy。Thisisawitnesstothebanalityofthoseeconomistswhoproclaimproductionasaneternaltruth，andconfinehistorytothedomainofdistribution。
Thequestionastotherelationbetweenthatformofdistributionthatdeterminesproductionandproductionitself，belongsobviouslytothesphereofproduction。Ifitshouldbesaidthat，inthiscaseatleast，sinceproductionmustproceedfromaspecificdistributionofthemeansofproduction，distributionistothisextentantecedentto，andaprerequisiteof，production，thenthereplywouldbeasfollows。
Productionhasindeeditsconditionsandprerequisiteswhichareconstituentelementsofit。Attheveryoutset，thesemayhaveseemedtobenaturallyevolved。Inthecourseofproduction，however，theyaretransformedfromnaturallyevolvedfactorsintohistoricalones，and，althoughtheymayappearasnaturalpreconditionsforanyoneperiod，theyarethehistoricalresultofanotherperiod。Forexample，theemploymentofmachineryledtochangesinthedistributionofboththemeansofproductionandtheproduct。Modern，large—scalelandedpropertyhasbeenbroughtaboutnotonlybymoderntradeandmodernindustry，butalsobytheapplicationofthelattertoagriculture。
Theabove—mentionedquestionscanbeultimatelyresolvedintothis:whatroledogeneralhistoricalconditionsplayinproductionandtherelationsofproductiontothehistoricaldevelopmentasawhole？Thisquestionclearlybelongstotheanalysisanddiscussionofproduction。