ABSTRACT
In these differing uses of the word " capital ” there is one thing in common, they all refer to a sum of money at a given moment of time in contrast to the word “ income ” which always refers to a sum of money received during a given period. In discussing income it was found that while it is usually reckoned in terms of money, yet in a sense money income is only a symbol; the important thing is real income. Income is ordinarily reckoned in terms of money, partly because most people receive it in that form, partly because incomes can only be compared with one another in terms of money. For similar reasons capital ,is usually reckoned in terms of money, but in this case also .it is important to consider the goods of which the money is a symbol. Just as real income is the goods and services received during a given period of time, so “ real capital ” (to coin a term) is the goods possessed at a given time. These goods are generally rather confusingly referred to as capital, and we are left to gather from the context
whether it is to the goods themselves or to their money value that reference is made. For instance, when refer ence is made to the capital destroyed during war, it is usually the goods, houses, factories, machines, etc., which are meant, not their value.
