Two definitions for capital
Definition 1-Resources for start up
Definition 2 An existing potential for wealth production
Perhaps it will be too simplistic for many to really look at capital as simply change or an upgrade of sorts. Solid state economies generally maintain themselves without the need for capital, therefore capital might also be called development. Rather than money or labor hours being spent maintaining the system they are being used to develop a new infrastructure for a new development of some sort. and while many in the sustainability community might be concerned about over development, they may at the same time realize that there is a building or development process in creating more sustainable system to replace the over consumptive systems as well. So there can be a bit of a conundrum there
When the need for capital does arrive, there are several possible approaches
1- Acquire money or credit directly
2- Appeal to the community for proportional contributions from as many sectors who are able to contribute either money or labor
3-Rely on pioneers who develop early models of a new activity without direct compensation
4- Utilize other forms of trade commitments. IOU's or other forms of non traditional economic exchange
However it is important to realize there are other more subtle ways of considering capital. The following link explores ideas such as social and intellectual capital which transcend the conventional notions of economic capital, but may still serve us well in the overall discussion
8 forms of capital http://www.appleseedpermaculture.com/8-forms-of-cap
The next few points are indirectly connected to the general definition of capital. As stated earlier capital is defined as something extra beyond the normal transactional economy and then this surplus must be put into projects which are seen as new to some degree. but this posits one part of the economy as static and other parts as dynamic when it seems clear no absolute distinction of that nature can truly be made. so here are some peripheral concepts to capital-
Volunteers, pioneers, demonstrators. a few points. In some cases there may be individuals willing to do the early work in starting up local projects without direct compensation. There can be a few reasons for such an approach. Individuals may feel that they will garner a certain type of attention that will eventually need to some type of satisfactory reward. this may or not be strictly monetary which leads to a couple of more aspects. Volunteers for instance may feel rewarded as much bey the results of their efforts as compared to a wage earning effort. Second it may also be the case that those who volunteer, pioneer, demonstrate, etc may earn a certain type of capital, or esteem, in the minds of other members of the public, and that those positive attitudes earned by the pioneers eventually pay off in rewards of various types
A slightly different aspect is in the case of the intern. Generally part of the trade-off includes the intern learning something from the work that will become useful to them in later endeavors in the field. Unpaid interns in terms of farm labor, especially on organic or permaculture based, who are often called woofers, have become a source for concern of public officials in the context of labor law. while this may not fit in to the classic system for capital it can allow the intern to accrue technical capital or capabilities for themselves without paying for school, and it may also allow the business owner to accrue the benefits of unpaid labor for capital projects
Pledged consumer blocks- In the case of CSA's customers pay up front which certainly can provide the capital that the farmer may need for that season. Other types of pledged consumer blocks may be possible, and while the consumers may not directly intend to have their funds serve as capital, the guarantee of future income for the provider may serve as such anyway
Slow change- Often the need for capital investment is created by a bit of a quantum leap in terms of production capacity or something similar. for instance an individual may be a hobby gardener and maybe even selling some produce, but when they decide to quit the day job and become a full time farmer, they likely will need some capital investment to scale up. Where we draw the line between slowly scaling up and a jump that calls for capital per se can become murky. so we might say there are occasions where you need a small stream of just little bits of capital as opposed a big chunk quantum leap type of thing
Creating incentives This is a loose term, so we need a fairly lengthy examination. In general we start with basic assumptions that certain tangible legitimate needs for a community can be identified, hopefully after a deliberative inclusive process, certain projects they feel are of benefit and priority and that incentives should be created to facilitate them A tax might fall into this category, but other forms of incentives are also possible Now it easy to become bogged down with the idea that all kinds of competing groups will come to some sort of public forums with competing ideas, and that more friction will occur than progress. But in theory at least it is a potential tool for the need for capital of various sorts
Philosophical points
1- The connection between capital and growth or development
2- The potential for the interests that control the capital to profit excessively from the developments made by said capital
3- That the incentives for investors is high enough for them to want to invest
Private investment/slow money http://www.extraenvironmentalist.com/2015/05/25/episode-86-slow-money-part/
http://www.extraenvironmentalist.com/2015/04/13/episode-85-slow-money-part/
http://www.extraenvironmentalist.com/2015/03/02/episode-84-slow-money-part/
Definition 1-Resources for start up
Definition 2 An existing potential for wealth production
Perhaps it will be too simplistic for many to really look at capital as simply change or an upgrade of sorts. Solid state economies generally maintain themselves without the need for capital, therefore capital might also be called development. Rather than money or labor hours being spent maintaining the system they are being used to develop a new infrastructure for a new development of some sort. and while many in the sustainability community might be concerned about over development, they may at the same time realize that there is a building or development process in creating more sustainable system to replace the over consumptive systems as well. So there can be a bit of a conundrum there
When the need for capital does arrive, there are several possible approaches
1- Acquire money or credit directly
2- Appeal to the community for proportional contributions from as many sectors who are able to contribute either money or labor
3-Rely on pioneers who develop early models of a new activity without direct compensation
4- Utilize other forms of trade commitments. IOU's or other forms of non traditional economic exchange
However it is important to realize there are other more subtle ways of considering capital. The following link explores ideas such as social and intellectual capital which transcend the conventional notions of economic capital, but may still serve us well in the overall discussion
8 forms of capital http://www.appleseedpermaculture.com/8-forms-of-cap
The next few points are indirectly connected to the general definition of capital. As stated earlier capital is defined as something extra beyond the normal transactional economy and then this surplus must be put into projects which are seen as new to some degree. but this posits one part of the economy as static and other parts as dynamic when it seems clear no absolute distinction of that nature can truly be made. so here are some peripheral concepts to capital-
Volunteers, pioneers, demonstrators. a few points. In some cases there may be individuals willing to do the early work in starting up local projects without direct compensation. There can be a few reasons for such an approach. Individuals may feel that they will garner a certain type of attention that will eventually need to some type of satisfactory reward. this may or not be strictly monetary which leads to a couple of more aspects. Volunteers for instance may feel rewarded as much bey the results of their efforts as compared to a wage earning effort. Second it may also be the case that those who volunteer, pioneer, demonstrate, etc may earn a certain type of capital, or esteem, in the minds of other members of the public, and that those positive attitudes earned by the pioneers eventually pay off in rewards of various types
A slightly different aspect is in the case of the intern. Generally part of the trade-off includes the intern learning something from the work that will become useful to them in later endeavors in the field. Unpaid interns in terms of farm labor, especially on organic or permaculture based, who are often called woofers, have become a source for concern of public officials in the context of labor law. while this may not fit in to the classic system for capital it can allow the intern to accrue technical capital or capabilities for themselves without paying for school, and it may also allow the business owner to accrue the benefits of unpaid labor for capital projects
Pledged consumer blocks- In the case of CSA's customers pay up front which certainly can provide the capital that the farmer may need for that season. Other types of pledged consumer blocks may be possible, and while the consumers may not directly intend to have their funds serve as capital, the guarantee of future income for the provider may serve as such anyway
Slow change- Often the need for capital investment is created by a bit of a quantum leap in terms of production capacity or something similar. for instance an individual may be a hobby gardener and maybe even selling some produce, but when they decide to quit the day job and become a full time farmer, they likely will need some capital investment to scale up. Where we draw the line between slowly scaling up and a jump that calls for capital per se can become murky. so we might say there are occasions where you need a small stream of just little bits of capital as opposed a big chunk quantum leap type of thing
Creating incentives This is a loose term, so we need a fairly lengthy examination. In general we start with basic assumptions that certain tangible legitimate needs for a community can be identified, hopefully after a deliberative inclusive process, certain projects they feel are of benefit and priority and that incentives should be created to facilitate them A tax might fall into this category, but other forms of incentives are also possible Now it easy to become bogged down with the idea that all kinds of competing groups will come to some sort of public forums with competing ideas, and that more friction will occur than progress. But in theory at least it is a potential tool for the need for capital of various sorts
Philosophical points
1- The connection between capital and growth or development
2- The potential for the interests that control the capital to profit excessively from the developments made by said capital
3- That the incentives for investors is high enough for them to want to invest
Private investment/slow money http://www.extraenvironmentalist.com/2015/05/25/episode-86-slow-money-part/
http://www.extraenvironmentalist.com/2015/04/13/episode-85-slow-money-part/
http://www.extraenvironmentalist.com/2015/03/02/episode-84-slow-money-part/