ABSTRACT
The chapter presents an approach to capital that has been unduly neglected by economists. In actual business life in capitalist societies, capital is not a factor of production. Instead, capital is a term that stems from the economic calculations of profit-oriented enterprises. It is linked to specific capitalist institutions, particularly to money, enterprises, and markets. Capital consists of acquisitive sums of money that are invested in assets of a business, be they land, tools, buildings, cash, claims, or whatever. As an element of economic calculation, therefore, capital is homogeneous. It brings the various and heterogeneous assets of an enterprise under one denomination – money. By means of the tools of economic calculation, the capital of an enterprise is separated from the personal wealth of its owners or shareholders and becomes managed rationally with the aim of earning as high a return as possible. Therefore, one could say that capital is the portion of the wealth in society that is subject to rational economic calculation.
