ACONTRIBUTIONTOACRITIQUEOFPOLITICALECONOMY
WrittenbetweenendofAugustandmiddleSeptember1857。
MarxintendedthistobetheIntroductiontohis_ContributiontoaCritiqueofPoliticalEconomy_（1859），but，ashisPrefacetothatworknotes，hedecidedtoomitit。
Theunfinishedroughdraft，whichwasfoundamongMarx’spapersafterhisdeath。Firstpublished1903，in_DieNeueZeit_。Wouldbecomethefirstmanuscriptinthe_Grundrisse_。
I。PRODUCTION，CONSUMPTION，DISTRIBUTION，EXCHANGE（CIRCULATION）
1。Production（a）Tobeginwith，thequestionunderdiscussionis_materialproduction_。
Individualsproducinginasociety，andhencethesociallydeterminedproductionofindividuals，isofcoursethepointofdeparture。Thesolitaryandisolatedhunterorfisherman，whoservesAdamSmithandRicardoasastartingpoint，isoneoftheunimaginativefantasiesof18thcenturyromancesalaRobinsonCrusoe；anddespitetheassertionsofsocialhistorians，thesebynomeanssignifysimplyareactionagainstover—refinementandreversiontoamisconceivednaturallife。
NomoreisRousseau’s_contratsocial_，whichbymeansofacontractestablishesarelationshipandconnectionbetweensubjectsthatarebynatureindependent，atallbasedonthiskindofnaturalism。ThisisanillusionandnothingbuttheaestheticillusionofthesmallandbigRobinsonades。Itis，onthecontrary，theanticipationof\"bourgeoissociety\"，whichbegantoevolveinthe16thcenturyandinthe18thcenturymadegiantstridestowardsmaturity。Theindividualinthissocietyoffreecompetitionseemstoberidofthenaturaltiesetc。
whichmadehimanappurtenanceofaparticular，limitedaggregationofhumanbeingsinprevioushistoricalepochs。Theprophetsofthe18thcentury，onwhoseshouldersAdamSmithandRicardowerestillwhollystanding，envisagedthisindividual——aproductofthedissolutionoffeudalsocietyontheonehandandtheproductiveforcesevolvedsincethe16thcenturyontheother——asanidealwhoseexistencebelongstothepast。Theysawthisindividualnotasahistoricalresult，butasthestarting—pointofhistory；notassomethingevolvinginthecourseofhistory，butpositedbynature，becauseforthemthisindividualwasinconformitywithnature，inkeepingwiththeirideaofhumannature。
Thisdelusionhasbeencharacteristicofeverynewepochhitherto。
Steuart，whoinsomerespectswasinoppositiontothe18thcentury，and，asanaristocrat，tendedrathertoregardthingsfromahistoricalstandpoint，avoidedthisnaiveview。
Thefurtherbackwetracethecourseofhistory，themoredoestheindividual，andaccordinglyalsotheproducingindividual，appeartobedependentandtobelongtoalargerwhole。Atfirst，theindividualinastillquitenaturalmannerispartofthefamilyandofthetribewhichevolvesfromthefamily；later，heispartofacommunity，ofoneofthedifferentformsofcommunitywhicharisefromtheconflictandthemergingoftribes。Itisnotuntilthe18thcenturythat，inthebourgeoissociety，thevariousformsofthesocialtextureconfronttheindividualasmerelymeanstowardhisprivateends，asexternalnecessity。Buttheepochwhichproducesthisstandpoint，namelythatoftheisolatedindividual，ispreciselytheepochofthe（asyet）mosthighly—developedsocial（accordingtothisstandpoint，general）
relations。Manisa\"zoonpolitikon\"[socialanimal]inthemostliteralsense:heisnotonlyasocialanimal，butananimalthatcanindividualizehimselfonlywithinsociety。Productionbyanisolatedindividualoutsidesociety——arareevent，whichmightoccurwhenacivilizedpersonwhohasalreadyabsorbedthedynamicsocialforcesisaccidentallycastintothewilderness——isjustaspreposterousasthedevelopmentofspeechwithoutindividualswholive_together_andtalktooneanother。Itisunnecessarytodwelluponthispointfurther。Itneednothavebeenmentionedatall，ifthisinanity，whichhadrhymeandreasonintheworksof18thcenturywriters，werenotexpresslyintroducedoncemoreintomodernpoliticaleconomybyBastiat，Carey，Proudhon，etc。ItisofcourseverypleasantforProudhon，forinstance，tobeabletoexplaintheoriginofaneconomicrelationship——whosehistoricalevolutionhedoesnotknow——inanhistorico—philosophicalmannerbymeansofmythology；allegingthatAdamorPrometheushitupontheready—madeidea，whichwasthenputintopractice，etc。Nothingismoretediousanddullthanthecommonplacephantasiesof_locuscommunis_。
Thus，whenwespeakofproduction，wealwayshaveinmindproductionatadefinitestageofsocialdevelopment——ofproductionbyindividualsinasociety。Itmightthereforeseemsthat，inordertospeakofproductionatall，wemusteithertracethevariousphasesinthehistoricalprocessofdevelopment，orelsedeclarefromtheverybeginningthatweareexamining_one_particularhistoricalperiod，asforinstancemodernbourgeoisproduction，whichis，indeed，ourrealsubjectmatter。Allperiodsofproduction，however，havecertainfeaturesincommon；theyhavecertaincommoncategories。_Productioningeneral_isanabstraction，butasensibleabstractioninsofarasitactuallyemphasizesanddefinesthecommonaspectsandthusavoidsrepetition。Yetthis_general_concept，orthecommonaspectwhichhasbeenbroughttolightbycomparison，isitselfamultifariouscompoundcomprisingdivergentcategories。Someelementsarefoundinallepochs，othersarecommontoafewepochs。Themostmodernperiodandthemostancientperiodwillhave[certain]categoriesincommon。Productionwithoutthemisinconceivable。But，althoughthemosthighly—developedlanguageshavelawsandcategoriesincommonwiththemostprimitivelanguages，itispreciselytheirdivergencefromthesegeneralandcommonfeatureswhichconstitutestheirdevelopment。Itisnecessarytodistinguishthesedefinitionswhichapplytoproductioningeneral，inordernottooverlooktheessentialdifferencesexistingdespitetheunitythatfollowsfromtheveryfactthatthesubject（mankind）andobject（nature）arethesame。Forinstance，onfailuretoperceivethisfactdependstheentirewisdomofmoderneconomistswhoprovetheeternityandharmonyofexistingsocialrelations。Forexample，noproductionispossiblewithoutaninstrumentofproduction，evenifthisinstrumentissimplythehand。Itisnotpossiblewithoutpast，accumulatedlabor，evenifthislaborisonlytheskillacquiredbyrepeatedpracticeandconcentratedinthehandofasavage。Capitalis，amongotherthings，alsoaninstrumentofinstrumentofproduction，andalsopast，materializedlabor。Consequently，capitalisauniversalandeternalrelationgivenbynature——thatis，providedoneomitspreciselythosespecificfactorswhichturnthe\"instrumentofproduction\"or\"accumulatedlabor\"intocapital。Thewholehistoryoftherelationsofproductionthusappears，forinstanceinCarey’swritings，asafalsificationmalevolentlybroughtaboutbygovernment。
Justasthereisnoproductioningeneral，sothereisalsonogeneralproduction。Productionisalwaysaparticularbranchofproduction——
e。g。agriculture，cattle—breeding，manufacture——oritisthe_totality_ofproduction。Politicaleconomy，however，isnottechnology。Therelationsofthegeneralcategoriesofproductionatagivensocialstagetotheparticularformsofproductionistobesetforthelsewhere（later）。
Finally，notonlyisproduction_particular_production，butitisinvariablyonlyadefinitesocialcorpus，asocialsubject，thatisengagedinawiderornarrowertotalityofproductionspheres。Therelationofacademicpresentationtotheactualprocessdoesnotbelonghereeither。ProductioningeneralParticularbranchesofproduction。
Totalityofproduction。
Itisfashionabletoprefaceeconomicworkswithageneralpart——anditisjustthiswhichappearsundertheheading\"Production\"，seeforinstanceJohnStuartMill——whichdealswiththegeneralconditionsofallproduction。Thisgeneralpartcomprisesorpurportstocomprise:
1。Theconditionswithoutwhichproductioncannotbecarriedon。
Thismeans，infact，onlythattheessentialfactorsrequiredforanykindofproductionareindicated。Butthisamountsactually，asweshallsee，toafewverysimpledefinitions，whichbecomereducedtotrivialtautologies。
2。Theconditionswhichpromoteproductiontoalargerorsmallerdegree，asinthecaseofAdamSmith’sprogressiveandstagnantstateofsociety。
Togivethis，whichinSmith’sworkhasitsvalueasan_apercu_，togiveitscientificsignificance，researchintothe_degreeofproductivity_atvariousperiodsinthedevelopmentofindividualnationswouldhavetobeconducted；strictlyspeaking，suchaninvestigationliesoutsidetheframeworkofthesubject。Thoseaspectswhicharehoweverrelevanttoitoughttobementionedinconnectionwiththedevelopmentofcompetition，accumulation，etc。
Theanswerinitsgeneralformamountstothegeneralstatementthatanindustrialnationachievesitshighestproductivitywhichitisaltogetherattheheightofitshistoricaldevelopment。（Infact，anationisattheheightofitshistoricaldevelopmentsolongas，notthegain，butgainingremainsitsprincipalaim。Inthisrespect，theYankeesaresuperiortotheEnglish。）Orelsethat，forexample，certainraces，formations，climates，naturalcircumstances，suchasmaritimeposition，fertilityofthesoil，etc。，aremoreconducivetoproductionthatothers。This，again，amountstothetautologicalstatementthattheproductionofwealthgrowseasierinthemeasurethatitssubjectiveandobjectiveelementsbecomesavailable。
Butallthisisnotreallywhattheeconomistsareconcernedaboutinthegeneralpart。Itisrather——seeforexampleMill——thatproduction，asdistinctfromdistributionetc。，istobepresentedasgovernedbyeternalnaturallawswhichareindependentofhistory，andatthesametime_bourgeois_relationsareclandestinelypassedoffasirrefutablenaturallawsofsociety_inabstracto_。Thisisthemoreorlessconsciouspurposeofthewholeprocedure。Asregardsdistribution，however，itissaidthatmenhaveindeedindulgedinacertainamountoffreechoice。Quiteapartfromthecrudeseparationofproductionanddistributionandtheirrealinterconnection，itshouldbeobviousfromtheoutsetthat，howeverdissimilarthemodeofdistributionatthevariousstagesofsocietymaybe，itmustbepossible，justasinthecaseofproduction，toemphasizethecommonaspects，anditmustbelikewisepossibletoconfuseandeffaceallhistoricaldifferencesinlawsthatare_commontoallmankind_。Forexample，theslave，theserf，thewage—worker，theyallreceiveanamountoffoodenablingthemtoexistasaslave，serforwage—worker。Theconquerorwholivesontribute，ortheofficialwholivesontaxes，orthelandownerwholivesonrent，orthemonkwholivesonalms，ortheclergymanwholivesontithes，allreceiveaportionofthesocialproductwhichisdeterminedbydifferentlawsfromtheportionoftheslave，andsoon。Thetwoprincipalfactors，whichalleconomistsincludeinthissection，are:
（1）property，and（2）itsprotectionbythejudiciary，police，etc。
Onlyaverybriefreplyisneeded:
Regarding（1）:productionisalwaysappropriationofnaturebyanindividualwithin，andwiththehelpofadefinitesocialorganization。
Inthiscontext，itistautologicaltosaythatproperty（appropriation）
isaconditionofproduction。Butitisquiteridiculoustomakealeapfromthistoadistinctformofproperty——e。g。，privateproperty（thisis，moreover，anantitheticalform，whichsimilarlypresupposed_non—property_asacondition）。Historyhasshown，onthecontrary，thatcommonproperty（e。g。，amongtheIndians，Slavs，ancientCelts，etc。）istheoriginalform，andintheshapeofcommunalpropertyitplaysasignificantroleforalongtime。Thequestionofwhetherwealthdevelopsfasterunderthisorunderthatformofpropertyisnotyetunderdiscussionatthispoint。Itistautological，however，tostatethatwherenoformofpropertyexists，therecanbenoproductionandhencenosocietyeither。Appropriationwhichappropriatesnothingisacontradictioninterms。
Regarding（2）:Safeguardingofwhathasbeenacquired，etc。Ifthesetrivialitiesarereducedtotheirrealcontent，theysaymorethantheirauthorsrealize——namelythateachmodeofproductionproducesitsspecificlegalrelations，politicalforms，etc。Itisasignofcrudityandlackofcomprehensionthatorganicallycoherentfactorsarebroughtintohaphazardrelationwithoneanother——i。e。，intoasimplereflexconnection。Thebourgeoiseconomistshavemerelytheviewthatproductionproceedsmoresmoothlywithmodernpolicethan（forexample）
underclub—law。Theyforget，however，thatclub—lawtooislaw，andthatthelawofthestronger，onlyinadifferentform，stillsurvivesevenintheir\"constitutionalState\"。
Whilethesocialconditionsappropriatetoaparticularstageofproductionareeitherstillinthecourseofevolution，oralreadyinastateofdissolution，disturbancesnaturallyoccurintheprocessofproduction，althoughthesemaybeofvaryingdegreeandextent。
Torecapitulate:therearecategorieswhicharecommontoallstageofproductionandareestablishedbyreasoningasgeneralcategories；theso—called_generalconditions_ofallandanyproduction，however，arenothingbutabstractaspectswhichdonotdefineanyoftheactualhistoricalstagesofproduction。
KarlMarxINTRODUCTIONTO
ACONTRIBUTIONTOACRITIQUEOFPOLITICALECONOMY
WrittenbetweenendofAugustandmiddleSeptember1857。
MarxintendedthistobetheIntroductiontohis_ContributiontoaCritiqueofPoliticalEconomy_（1859），but，ashisPrefacetothatworknotes，hedecidedtoomitit。
Theunfinishedroughdraft，whichwasfoundamongMarx’spapersafterhisdeath。Firstpublished1903，in_DieNeueZeit_。Wouldbecomethefirstmanuscriptinthe_Grundrisse_。
I。PRODUCTION，CONSUMPTION，DISTRIBUTION，EXCHANGE（CIRCULATION）
2。TheGeneralRelationsofProductiontoDistribution，ExchangeandConsumptionBeforestartinguponafurtheranalysisofproduction，itisnecessarytoconsiderthevarioussectionswhicheconomistsplacealongsideit。
Thequiteobviousconceptionisthis:Intheprocessofproduction，membersofsocietyappropriate（produce，fashion）naturalproductsinaccordancewithhumanrequirements；distributiondeterminesthesharetheindividualreceivesoftheseproducts；exchangesupplieshimwiththeparticularproductsintowhichhewantstoconverttheportionaccruingtohimasaresultofdistribution；finally，byconsumption，theproductsbecomesobjectsofuse——i。e。，theyareappropriatedbyindividuals。Productioncreatesarticlescorrespondingtorequirements；
distributionallocatesthemaccordingtosociallaws；exchange，initsturn，distributesthegoods，whichhavealreadybeenallocated，inconformitywithindividualneeds；finally，inconsumption，theproductleavesthissocialmovementanditbecomesthedirectobjectandservantofanindividualneed，whichuseitsatisfies。Productionthusappearsasthepointofdeparture，consumptionasthegoal，distributionandexchangeasthemiddle——whichhasadualformsince，accordingtothedefinition，distributionisactuatedbysocietyandexchangeisactuatedbyindividuals。Inproduction，p[personsacquireanobjectiveaspect，andinconsumptionobjectsacquireasubjectiveaspect；indistribution，itissocietywhich，bymeansofdominantgeneralrules，mediatesbetweenproductionandconsumption；inexchange，thismediationoccursasaresultofrandomdecisionsofindividuals。
Distributiondeterminestheproportion（thequantity）oftheproductsaccruingtotheindividual，exchangedeterminestheproductsinwhichtheindividualclaimstomakeuptheshareassignedtohimbydistribution。
Production，distribution，exchangeandconsumption，thus，formapropersyllogism；productionrepresentsthegeneral，distributionandexchangetheparticular，andconsumptiontheindividualcase，whichsumsupthewhole。Thisisindeedasequence，butaverysuperficialone。
Productionisdeterminedbygenerallawsofnature；distributionbyrandomsocialfactors，itmaythereforeexertamore—or—lessbeneficialinfluenceonproduction；exchange，aformalsocialmovement，liesbetweenthesetwo；andconsumption，astheconcludingact，whichisregardednotonlyasthefinalaimbutastheultimatepurpose，fallsproperlyoutsidethesphereofeconomy——exceptinsofarasitinturnexertsareciprocalactiononthepointofdeparture，thusonceagaininitiatingthewholeprocess。
Theopponentsoftheeconomists，whoaccusethelatterofcrudelyseparatinginterconnectedelements，eitherarguefromthesamestandpointorevenfromalowerone——nomatterwhethertheseopponentscomefromwithinorwithoutthedomainofpoliticaleconomy。Nothingismorecommonthatthereproachthattheeconomistsregardproductionasagoalinitself，andthatdistributionisequallyimportant。Thisargumentisbasedontheconceptoftheeconomiststhatdistributionisaseparateandindependentspherealongsideproduction。Anotherargumentisthatthedifferentfactorsarenotconsideredasasinglewhole；asthoughthisseparationhadforceditswayfromthetextbookintoreallifeandnot，onthecontrary，fromreallifeintothetextbooks；andasthoughitwereaquestionofthedialecticreconciliationofconcepts，andnotoftheresolutionofactuallyexistingconditions。
（a）ProductionandConsumptionProductionissimultaneouslyconsumptionaswell。Itisconsumptioninadualform——subjectiveandobjectiveconsumption。Firstly，theindividual，whodevelopshisabilitieswhileproducing，expendsthemaswell，usingthemupintheactofproduction，justasinnaturalprocreation，vitalenergyisconsumed。Secondly，itisconsumptionofthemeansofproduction——whichareusedandusedupandinpart（asforinstancefuel）arebrokendownintosimplercomponents。Itsimilarlyinvolvesconsumptionofrawmaterial，whichisabsorbedanddoesnotretainitsoriginalshapeandquality。Theactofproductionitselfisthus，inallitsphases，alsoanactofconsumption。Theeconomistsconcedethis。Theycallproductiveconsumption，productionthatissimultaneouslyidenticalwithconsumption，andconsumptionwhichisdirectlyconcurrentwithproduction。TheidentityofproductionandconsumptionamountstoSpinoza’sproposition:_Determinatioestnegatio_。
Butthisdefinitionofproductiveconsumptionisonlyadvancedinordertoseparateconsumptionthatisidenticalwithproductionfromconsumptioninthepropersense，whichisregardedbycontrastasthedestructiveantithesisorproduction。Letusthereforeconsiderconsumptionproper。
Consumptionissimultaneouslyalsoproduction——justasinnature，theproductionofaplantinvolvestheconsumptionofelementalforcesandchemicalmaterials。Itisobviousthatmanproduceshisownbody（e。g。，throughfeeding，oneformofconsumption）。Butthesameappliestoanyotherkindofconsumptionwhichinonewayoranothercontributestotheproductionofsomeaspectofman。Hence，thisisconsumptiveproduction。Nevertheless，sayspoliticaleconomy，thistypeofproductionthatisidenticalwithconsumptionisasecondaryphasearisingfromthedestructionofthefirstproduct。Inthefirsttypeofproduction，theproducerassumesanobjectiveaspect；inthesecondtype，theobjectscreatedbyhimassumeapersonalaspect。Hence，thisconsumingproduction——althoughitrepresentsadirectunityofproductionandconsumption——isessentiallydifferentfromproductionproper。Thedirectunity，inwhichproductionisconcurrentwithconsumptionandconsumptionwithproduction，doesnotaffecttheirsimultaneousduality。
Productionis，thus，atthesametimeconsumption，andconsumptionisatthesametimeproduction。Eachissimultaneouslyitsopposite。Butanintermediarymovementtakesplacebetweenthetwoatthesametime。
Productionleadstoconsumption，forwhichitprovidesthematerial；
consumptionwithoutproductionwouldhavenoobject。Butconsumptionalsoleadstoproductionbyprovidingforitsproductsthesubjectforwhomtheyareproducts。Theproductattainsitsfinalconsummationinconsumption。Arailwayonwhichnoonetravels（whichisthereforenotusedup，notconsumed）ispotentially，butnotactually，arailway。
Withoutproduction，thereisnoconsumption；butwithoutconsumption，thereisnoproduction，either——sinceinthatcaseproductionwouldbeuseless。Consumptionproducesproductionintwoways。
1。Becauseaproductbecomesarealproductonlythroughconsumption。
Forexample，adressreallybecomesadressonlybybeingworn，ahousewhichisuninhabitedisindeednotreallyahouse——inotherwords，aproduct（asdistinctfromasimplenaturalobject）
manifestitselfasaproduct，becomesaproduct，onlyinconsumption。Itisonlyconsumptionwhich，bydestroyingtheproduct，givesitthefinishingtouch——fortheproductisaproductnotbecauseitismaterializedactivity，butonlyinsofarasitisanobjectfortheactivesubject。
2。Becauseconsumptioncreatestheneedfor_new_production，andthereforeprovidesproductionwiththeconceptual，intrinsicallyactuatingreasonforproduction，whichisthepreconditionforproduction。Consumptionfurnishestheimpulsetoproduce，aswellasprovidingtheobject，whichactsasthedeterminingpurposeofproduction。Ifitisevidentthat，externally，productionsuppliestheobjectofproductionasa_concept_，aninternalimage，aneed，amotive，apurpose。Consumptionfurnishestheobjectorproductioninaformthatisstillsubjective。Thereisnoproductionwithoutaneed，butconsumptionre—createstheneed。
Thisismatchedonthesideofproduction。
1。Bythefactthatproductionsuppliesthematerial，theobjectofconsumption。Consumptionwithoutanobjectisnoconsumption；inthisrespect，therefore，productioncreates，producesconsumption。
2。Butproductionprovidesnotonlytheobjectofconsumption，italsogivestheconsumptionadistinctform，acharacter，afinish。
Justasconsumptionputsthefinishingtouchontheproductasaproduct，soproductionputsthefinishingtouchtoconsumption。
Theobjectisnotsimplyanobjectingeneral，butaparticularobjectwhichmustbeconsumedinaparticularway，awaydeterminedbyproduction。Hungerishunger；butthehungerthatissatisfiedbycookedmeateatenwithaknifeandforkdiffersfromhungerthatdevoursrawmeatwiththehelpofhands，nailsandteeth。Productionthisproducesnotonlytheobjectofconsumptionbutalsothemodeofconsumption，notonlyobjectivelybutalsosubjectively。Productionthereforecreatestheconsumer。
3。Productionnotonlyprovidesthematerialtosatisfyaneed，butitalsoprovidestheneedforthematerial。Whenconsumptionemergesfromitsoriginalprimitivecrudenessandimmediacy——anditsremaininginthatstatewouldbeduetothefactthatproductionwasstillprimitivelycrude——thenitisitself，asadesire，broughtaboutbytheobject。Theneedfeltfortheobjectisinducedbytheperceptionoftheobject。An_objetd’art_
createsapublicthathasartistictasteandisabletoenjoybeauty——andthesamecanbesaidofanyotherproduct。
Productionaccordinglyproducesnotonlyanobjectforthesubject，butalsoasubjectfortheobject。
Henceproductionproducesconsumption:
1。byprovidingthematerialofconsumption；
2。bydeterminingthemodeofconsumption；
3。bycreatingintheconsumeraneedfortheobjectswhichitfirstpresentsasproducts。
Itthereforeproducestheobjectofconsumption，themodeofconsumptionandtheurgetoconsume。Similarly，consumptionproducesthe_predisposition_oftheproducerbypositinghimasapurposiverequirement。
Theidentityofconsumptionandproductionhasthreeaspects:
1。Directidentity:Productionisconsumptionandconsumptionisproduction。Consumptiveproductionandproductiveconsumption。
Economistscallbothproductiveconsumption，buttheystillmakeadistinction。Theformerfiguresintheirworkasreproduction，thelatterasproductiveconsumption。Allinvestigationsconcerningtheformerareconcernedwithproductiveandunproductivelabor，concerningthelatterwithproductiveandnon—productiveconsumption。
2。Eachappearsasameansoftheother，asbeinginducedbyit；thisiscalledtheirmutualdependence；theyarethusbroughtintomutualrelationandappeartobeindispensabletoeachother，butneverthelessremainextrinsictoeachother。Productionprovidesthematerialwhichistheexternalobjectofconsumption，consumptionprovidestheneed——i。e。，theinternalobject，thepurposeofproduction。Thereisnoconsumptionwithoutproduction，andnoproductionwithoutconsumption。Thispropositionappearsinvariousformsinpoliticaleconomy。
3。Productionisnotonlysimultaneouslyconsumption，andconsumptionsimultaneouslyproduction；norisproductiononlyameansofconsumptionandconsumptionthepurposeofproduction——i。e。，eachprovidestheotherwithitsobjects，productionsupplyingtheexternalobjectofconsumption，andconsumptiontheconceptualobjectofproduction——inotherwords，eachofthemisnotonlysimultaneouslytheother，andnotmerelythecauseoftheother，buteachofthembybeingcarriedthroughcreatestheother，itcreatesitselfastheother。itisonlyconsumptionthatconsummatestheprocessofproduction，sinceconsumptioncompletestheproductasaproductbydestroyingit，byconsumingitsindependentconcreteform。Moreover，byitsneedsforrepetition，consumptionleadstotheperfectionofabilitiesevolvedduringthefirstprocessofproductionandconvertsthemintoskills。
Consumptionisthereforetheconcludingactwhichturnsnotonlytheproductintoaproduct，butalsotheproducerintoaproducer。
Production，ontheotherhand，producesconsumptionbycreatingadefinitemodeofconsumption，andbyprovidinganincentivetoconsumptionittherebycreatesthecapabilitytoconsumeasarequirement。Thelastkindofidentity，whichisdefinedinpoint3，hasbeenvariouslyinterpretedbyeconomistswhendiscussingtherelationofdemandandsupply，ofobjectsandneeds，ofneedscreatedbysocietyandnaturalneeds。
Afterthis，nothingissimplerforaHegelianthantoassumethatproductionandconsumptionareidentical。Andthishasbeendonenotonlybysocialist_belletrists_butalsobyprosaiceconomists，suchasSay，indeclaringthatifoneconsidersanation——ormankind_inabstracto_——thenitsproductionisitsconsumption。StorchhasshownthatthispropositionofSay’siswrong，sinceanation，forinstance，doesnotconsumeitsentireproduct，butmustalsoprovidemeansofproduction，fixedcapital，etc。Itis，moreover，wrongtoconsidersocietyasasingleindividual，asinspeculativereasoning。Withanindividual，productionandconsumptionappearasdifferentaspectsofoneact。Theimportantpointtobeemphasizedhereisthatifproductionandconsumptionbeconsideredasactivitiesofoneindividual，orofseparateindividuals，theyappearatanyrateasaspectsofoneprocessinwhichproductionformstheactualstarting—pointandis，therefore，thepredominatingfactor。
Consumption，asanaturalnecessity，asawant，constitutesaninternalfactorofproductiveactivity，butthelatteristhestarting—pointofrealizationand，therefore，itspredominatingfactor，theactintowhichtheentireprocessresolvesitselfintheend。Theindividualproducesacertainarticleandturnsagainintohimselfbyconsumingit；buthereturnsasaproductiveandself—reproducingindividual。Consumptionthusappearsasafactorofproduction。
Insociety，however，therelationoftheproducertohisproduct，assoonasitiscompleted，isanoutwardone，andthereturnoftheproducttotheindividualdependsonhisrelationstootherindividuals。
Hedoesnottakeimmediatepossessionofit。Nordoesthedirectappropriationoftheproductconstitutehispurpose，whenheproducesinsociety。Betweentheproducerandtheproduct，distributionstepsin，whichdetermines（bysociallaws）hisshareintheworldofproducts；
thatistosay，distributionstepsinbetweenproductionandconsumption。
Doesdistributionformanindependentsectoralongsideandoutsideproduction？
（b）ProductionanddistributionWhenlookingthroughtheordinaryrunofeconomicworks，one’sattentionisattractedforthwithbythefactthateverythingismentionedtwice——
e。g。，rent，wages，interestandprofitfigureundertheheadingdistribution，whileundertheheadingofproduction，land，laborandcapital。Astocapital，itisevidentfromtheoutsetthatthisiscountedtwice:firstasafactorofproduction，andsecondlyasasourceofincome（i。e。，asadetermininganddeterminateformofdistribution）。
Interestandprofitappearthereforeinproductionaswell，sincetheyareformsinwhichcapitalincreasesandgrows，andarethusphasesofitsproduction。Asformsofdistribution，interestandcapitalpresupposecapitalasafactorofproduction。Theyareformsofdistributionwhosepreconditionistheexistenceofcapitalasafactorofproduction。Theyarelikewisemodesofproductionofcapital。
Wagesrepresentalsowage—labor，whichisexaminedinadifferentsection；theparticularfunctionthatlaborperformsasafactorofproductionintheonecaseappearsasafunctionofdistributionintheother。Iflabordidnothavethedistinctformofwage—labor，thenitsshareintheproductwouldnotappearaswages，asforinstanceinslavery。Finally，rent——ifwetakethemostadvancedformofdistributionbywhichlandedpropertyobtainsashareintheproducts——
presupposeslarge—scalelandedproperty（strictlyspeaking，large—scaleagriculture）asafactorofproduction，andnotlandingeneral；justaswagesdonotpresupposelaboringeneral。Therelationsandmodesofdistributionarethusmerelythereverseaspectofthefactorsofproduction。Anindividualwhoseparticipationinproductiontakestheformofwage—laborwillreceiveashareintheproduct，theresultofproduction，intheformofwages。Thestructureofdistributionisentirelydeterminedbythestructureofproduction。distributionitselfisaproductofproduction，notonlywithregardtothecontent，foronlytheresultsofproductioncanbedistributed，butalsowithregardtotheform，sincetheparticularmodeofmen’sparticipationinproductiondeterminesthespecificformofdistribution，theforminwhichtheyshareindistribution。Itisaltogetheranillusiontospeakoflandinthesectionofproduction，andofrentinthesectionondistribution，etc。
EconomistslikeRicardo，whoaremainlyaccusedofhavingpaidexclusiveattentiontoproduction，haveaccordinglyregardeddistributionastheexclusivesubjectofpoliticaleconomy——fortheyhaveinstinctivelytreatedtheformsofdistributionasthemostpreciseexpressioninwhichfactorsofproductionmanifestthemselvesinagivensociety。
Tothesingleindividual，distributionnaturallyappearsasasociallaw，whichdetermineshispositionwithintheframeworkofproduction，andwithinwhichheproduces；distributionthusbeingantecedenttoproduction。Anindividualwhohasneithercapitalnorlandedpropertyofhisownisdependentonwage—laborfromhisbirthasaconsequenceofsocialdistribution。Butthisdependenceisitselftheresultoftheexistenceofcapitalandlandedpropertyasindependentfactorsofproduction。
Whenoneconsiderswholesocieties，stillanotheraspectofdistributionappearstobeantecedenttoproductionandtodetermineit，asthoughitwereanante—economicfactor。
—Aconqueringnationmaydividethelandamongtheconquerorsand，inthisway，imposeadistinctmodeofdistributionandforoflandedproperty（thusdeterminingproduction）。Or，—itmayturnthepopulationintoslaves，thusmakingslave—laborthebasisofproduction。Or，—inthecourseofarevolution，anationmaydividelargeestatesintoplots，thusalteringthecharacterofproductioninconsequenceofthenewdistribution。Or，—legislationmayperpetuatelandownershipincertainfamilies，orallocatelaborasahereditaryprivilege，thusconsolidatingitintoacastesystem。
Inallthesecases（andtheyhavealloccurredinhistory）itseemsthatdistributionisnotregulatedanddeterminedbyproductionbut，onthecontrary，productionbydistribution。