capitalism 的詞源

1854年，“擁有資本的狀態”； 來自 capital（n.1）+ -ism。 “鼓勵資本家的政治/經濟體系”一詞記錄於1872年，最初被社會主義者貶低使用。 “少數人手中的資本集中; 大資本的權力或影響”一詞來自1877年。

"Capital" may be most briefly described as wealth producing more wealth; and "capitalism" as the system directing that process. This latter term came into general use during the second half of the 19th century as a word chiefly signifying the world-wide modern system of organizing production and trade by private enterprise free to seek profit and fortune by employing for wages the mass of human labour. There is no satisfactory definition of the term, though nothing is more evident than the thing. [J.L. Garvin, "Capitalism" in Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1929] 

“資本”可以最簡要地描述爲生產更多財富; “資本主義”是指指導這一過程的系統。這個後者的術語在19世紀下半葉開始普遍使用，主要是指通過私人企業自由尋求利潤和財富，通過僱用大量人力勞動力來組織生產和貿易的全球現代系統。雖然沒有什麼比這個更明顯的事情，但這個術語沒有令人滿意的定義。[J.L. Garvin，“資本主義”於 Encyclopaedia Britannica，1929年]