ABSTRACT
Treating capital as “congealed labor” rather than as a Ding an Sich, i.e., as an object with its own laws and dynamics, forces people to consider the manner in which capital is accumulated. This includes analyzing the social relations of production that have led to accumulation. Like labor relations, capitalization is in many ways similar in small and large firms. With regard to labor, in both large and small firms kinsmen play an important role. Similarly, both small and large firms make use of different forms of labor, either simultaneously or consecutively. Most artisans and the founders of at least the smaller industries must rely principally on their own and their spouses’ capacity to save in order to accumulate the capital necessary to launch an enterprise. Often, to accumulate capital, if that is at all possible, an artisan must spend many years coping with inadequate or improvised tools and machinery or borrowing and renting equipment.
