Hossein Jorjani
First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19
The existence of capital should not be confused with the existence of capitalism. Capital, merchants, markets, banking, and commercial exchange have existed in many societies throughout history. Their presence alone does not justify describing those societies as capitalist.
The concept of capitalism is most appropriately applied to societies in which industrial production has become the dominant mode of economic organization. In such societies, the systematic investment of capital in large-scale production, wage labour, technological innovation, and expanding markets becomes the principal mechanism through which wealth is created and economic life is organized.
This distinction helps to avoid anachronism. Ancient Rome, medieval Europe, and many early modern societies possessed merchants and accumulated capital, yet their economies remained fundamentally agricultural, tributary, or feudal. Capital existed within these societies, but it had not yet become their organizing principle.
Capitalism should therefore be understood not as the mere existence of capital but as a historically specific form of economic organization in which industrial production and capital accumulation become the dominant structuring forces of society.
Hossein Jorjani 