The Five Mysteries of Capital

Chapter 1: The Five Mysteries of Capital

I. Capitalism

a. An economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit

b. Government has little control, but provides enough guidance so that all laws are abided by

c. Why has Capitalism triumphed in the West and failed everywhere else?

i. Wealth gap: There is a great difference between the West and the rest of the world in regards to distribution of wealth.

ii. Inability to produce capital:

a. Resources exist, but are in defective forms

a. Ownership of houses are not clearly identified

b. Unincorporated business with undefined liability

b. Assets are considered dead capital since there is not representation

II. Five Mysteries of Capital

a. The Mystery of the Missing Information - There is no formal documentation of the world’s poor capacity to accumulate assets. They have the ability to save a lot; most of it is dead capital, which are assets that are not used to their fullest.

b. The Mystery of Capital - Central to this book is the exploration of what is capital, how is it produced, and how is it related to money?

c. The Mystery of Political Awareness - Within the past forty years, globalization brought governments to the realization of the untapped wealth of dead capital held by so many poor people.

d. The Missing Lesson of U.S. History - The lesson of the past can be found in the history books and applied with what is going on in the Third World and former communist