system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Semantic issues with the word "Capital"

Recently I have decided to re-read Katharina Pistor's book titled "The Code of Capital", and it lead me to confusion about the word capital. To my knowledge, capital is a stock that when exploited has the potential to turn a profit. Yet in the book, the author claims that "Capital is a legal quality that helps create and protect wealth". Could we interpret it as meaning that the capability of capital to be profitable is reliant on the power of the state to uphold contracts and protect property rights, or is use of the word here is simply inappropriate? Katharina is a lawyer by education, so I am inclined to accept the second conclusion, but I would like the opinion of others on this matter.
gpt
There's multiple definitions. For example, from the System of National Accounts 2008, the internationally-agreed manual that defines how GDP and other macroeconomic statistics are calculated, "capital goods" are ones that provide ongoing services, rather than being consumed within the production process. Therefore someone shipwrecked on a desert island who builds themselves a hut has capital, even though that doesn't fit under your definition or Pistor's.