ABSTRACT
Personal or landed capital is always hired in kind. Therefore, neither will ever be capital in the other sense and hiring it cannot be a credit transaction. After the expiry of the lease, whatever its duration may be, the worker (having hired out his personal skills in kind) and the landowner (having hired out his land) are always sure of getting back at least their personal capital or land, irrespective of receiving exactly their wages or rent. Besides, precautions may be taken for assuring the latter. Many owners of houses or other buildings, or of certain furniture, clothing, machines or tools are in the same position, and hiring or renting this proper capital is not [308] a credit transaction. All other capitalists, however, are in a much more precarious situation. They rent out their capital proper not in kind but in money, and not only are they never sure of receiving all their interest (they, too, may take some precautions), but they are not sure, either, of getting back the whole amount of money they lent. Hence they must have confidence and therefore they are said to give credit (from credere, Latin for: to believe, trust).
