Editing Capitalism (section)

== Capital accumulation ==
{{Main|Capital accumulation}}
The accumulation of capital is the process of "making money" or growing an initial sum of money through investment in production. Capitalism is based on the accumulation of capital, whereby [[financial capital]] is invested in order to make a profit and then reinvested into further production in a continuous process of accumulation. In Marxian economic theory, this dynamic is called the [[law of value]]. Capital accumulation forms the basis of capitalism, where economic activity is structured around the accumulation of [[Capital (economics)|capital]], defined as investment in order to realize a financial profit.<ref name="Economist definition">{{cite news | title = Economics A–Z: ''Capital'' | url = http://www.economist.com/economics-a-to-z/c#node-21529870 | website = [[economist.com|The Economist]] | access-date = 25 March 2015 | archive-date = 7 August 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170807235225/http://www.economist.com/economics-a-to-z/c#node-21529870 | url-status = live }}</ref> In this context, "capital" is defined as money or a financial asset invested for the purpose of making more money (whether in the form of profit, rent, interest, royalties, capital gain or some other kind of return).<ref name="MIA definition">{{cite web | title = Encyclopedia of Marxism – Glossary of terms: ''Capital'' | url = http://marxists.org/glossary/terms/c/a.htm#capital | website = [[Marxists Internet Archive]] | access-date = 25 March 2015 | archive-date = 18 June 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150618083941/https://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/c/a.htm#capital | url-status = live }}</ref>

In mainstream [[economics]], [[accounting]] and [[Marxian economics]], capital accumulation is often equated with [[investment (macroeconomics)|investment]] of profit income or savings, especially in [[real vs. nominal in economics|real]] capital goods. The concentration and centralisation of capital are two of the results of such accumulation. In modern [[macroeconomics]] and [[econometrics]], the phrase "[[capital formation]]" is often used in preference to "accumulation", though the [[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development]] (UNCTAD) refers nowadays to "accumulation". The term "accumulation" is occasionally used in [[national accounts]].