It is hard to imagine a more important topic within Marxian economics than the distribution of income and the means of production among the principal classes in capitalist economies. For example: (1) The share of profits (or, inversely, the share of wages) constitutes one important component of the rate of profit. (2) The rate of profit operates as a fundamental determinant of the pace of investment and, therefore, of accumulation. (3) The rate of accumulation serves as a kind of life-force invigorating capitalist economies over time — regulating their growth and development, and the wealth of their participants. (4) Distribution, production and accumulation are thus fundamentally interconnected, forming the foundation of lives and livelihoods in capitalist societies.