CAP. Capital
... how can one create and maintain value in an economic piston (EPI) what can one purchase with Money (MNY) that is not consumable?
If money is going to degrade as everything else in nature, how can one preserve value and grow one's position in culture?
Almost anything can be capital. An apple is capital for the time it is ripe, and then maybe in a compost heap. It is certainly not a stable piece of capital as it rots easily and can be consumed.
Capital is any asset that is expected to produce money at a point in the future. Wikipedia says: " capital consists of any produced thing that can enhance a person's power to perform economically useful work—a stone or an arrow is capital for a caveman who can use it as a hunting instrument, and roads are capital for inhabitants of a city."
So one can buy capital or produce capital via work. One form of capital is land, although it is not produced it is still a type of asset and can produce rents. We will distinguish between artificial capital and real capital later on.
Capital tends to depreciate and requires investment to maintain value.
It is also the property of capital that it tends to concentrate when not physically disrupted by war or legislation. Much of the class struggle of the last 350 years has been due to capital concentrating at the expense of labor that helped produce the capital.
Why does this happen? When a laborer exchanges his work for money, the capitalist gains the right to the product of his labor. Because money is finite and the laborer must use some of his wages for consumption, more and more value is concentrated in the capitalist's hands.
This may end up being the ultimate downfall of capitalism. If the gap between capital and labor grows too large, the labor class has typically revolted. This has been managed a bit by progressive policies on income, but ultimately income is only a piece of the equation. Capital is hard to tax because many items of capital are not liquid. If everyone agrees a tractor is worth 500 dollars but no one is willing to buy it, is it really worth that?
If we can, we must attempt to find a resolution to this issue. Capitalism has led to an immense improvement in society and massive production. It would be foolish to throw the baby out with the bathwater. The selfish motivation of capitalism can be very productive for society if we can find a way for labor to be balanced in the equation of wealth.
Therefore:
Money must be able to buy Capital. The tendency for capital to concentrated must be overcome.
Capital can be broken down into Artificial Capital (ACP) and Real Capital (RCP). Ownership of Capital can be secured via Rule of Law (LAW) and the Public Ledger (PLG).