Shawn Ritenour discusses how the accumulation of capital, far from being harmful to labor, is what makes improvements in the standard of living possible for people at all income levels, while making it possible for people to pursue goals other than economic ones. (See also Gary Galles on this.) Ritenour writes: “Capital is opposed to labor, and the rich get richer while the poor get poorer” is a phrase heard all too often. It’s often repeated by those who misunderstand the true economic relationship between capital formation and the productivity and real income of workers.
- I have previously written about how our understanding of the causes of economic progress can assist human flourishing and our fulfilling the cultural mandate.
- I later explained the nature and beneficial consequences of division of labor and how voluntary exchange is necessary for the division of labor to thrive.
Something often forgotten, however, is that a highly developed division of labor would be impossible without capital formation—another engine of economic development.
What is Capital, and Why Does It Matter?
Capital goods are produced means of production: tools, machines, buildings, and intermediary goods. What we call capital is merely the sum of the monetary value of all a firm’s assets that are dedicated to that firm’s productive operations minus the sum of the monetary value of all of a firm’s liabilities. These assets may consist of land, physical plant, tools, machinery, goods-in-process, receivables, cash, etc. Therefore, capital formation should be no more suspect than any other economic activity. Fulfilling the cultural mandate in our fallen world without either starving to death or killing one another requires productive labor. Sustaining a growing population requires increases in productivity. This is why capital is a blessing.
- The use of capital goods increases the productivity of the user, by allowing people to produce a greater quantity of output in the future.
- They also enable people to produce some goods that could not be had at all without capital goods, such as watches, automobiles, or smartphones.
- By increasing our productivity, they allow people to obtain more goods at lower prices, raising real incomes for all who participate in economic society.
However, capital goods do not spontaneously spring fully developed from nature. Before capital goods can be used, they must be produced.
What Does Capital Require of Us?
Producing capital goods takes time. In order to obtain capital goods it is necessary to save and invest these saved resources toward the formation of capital. Additionally, because capital goods are perishable, they must be replaced with further investment. At any moment in time, therefore, each producer faces three options:
- Accumulating capital. This requires a certain amount of saving.
- Maintaining capital. This also requires a certain amount of saving.
- Consuming capital. This only requires that the producer use up his capital stock.
The choice regarding whether a producer is going to accumulate, maintain, or consume his capital depends upon how much that producer is willing to put off present consumption in order to invest in a better future.
Who Does Capital Benefit?
Note that the blessings of capital are not solely or even primarily important for the so-called 1 percent. They are even more important for those on the low end of the income spectrum. Read the rest.
