ABSTRACT
T o seek for the origins of capitalism in the industrial revolution would involve a singular misunderstanding of history. The more closely those origins are studied the further do they recede, and they are probably quite as old as trade and currency or the distinction between rich and poor. What is characteristic of the factory system is the use of capital in the production of goods, the creation of capital by means of industrial production, and the existence of a class of capitalists whose interests are identified with those of industrial development.
