2024年5月11日发(作者：最好空调排名前十名)

Factors of production

Classical economics distinguishes between three factors of production which

are used in the production of goods:

•

Land or natural resources - naturally-occurring goods such as soil and

minerals. The payment for land is rent.

•

Labor - human effort used in production. The payment for labor is a wage.

•

Capital goods - human-made goods (or means of production) which are

used in the production of other goods. These include machinery, tools and

buildings. In a general sense, the payment for capital is called interest.

These were codified originally in the analyses of Adam Smith, 1776, David

Ricardo, 1817, and the later contributions of John Stuart Mill as part of one of the

first coherent theories of production in political economy.

In the classical analysis, capital was generally viewed as being physical items

such as tools and machinery. With the emergence of the knowledge economy,

more modern analysis often distinguishes this physical capital from other forms of

capital such as "human capital" (economics jargon for education or training).

Also, some economists mention enterprise, entrepreneurship, individual

capital or just "leadership" as a

fourth

factor. However, this seems to be a form of

labor or "human capital." When differentiated, the payment for this factor of

production is called profit.

The classical theory, further developed, remains useful to the present day as a

basis of microeconomics.

Developments and Alternative views

Marxist and socialist economists also employ the concept of factors of

production. But they tend to treat labour very differently from the other factors,

seeing it as the conscious and active input which converts physical raw materials

and other inputs into use-values wanted by consumers and businesses. Their

analysis does not substantially alter the idea of factors of production, although it

puts special emphasis on means of production, defined as the factors minus labor,

which it sought to differentiate from human factors. Further, Marxian political

economy differentiates between the transhistorical concepts of the "factors of

production" and the role that these play under capitalism: in that socio-economic

system, labor becomes " variable capital" seen as the source of surplus-value or

profits, while the non-human means of production become " constant capital"

which does not contribute to surplus-value except indirectly, by making labor

more productive.

Others focus on the central role of human capital, in particular the social

capital (community trust) and instructional capital (actual worker's skills and

instructions) that became increasingly important through the 20th century.

Most modern analyses usually cite four to seven types of capital, as in Natural

Capitalism or the theories of intellectual capital. Brands have also been considered

"brand capital", a special form of intangible firm-specific social capital distinct

from that inherited from the larger society, in the analysis of Baruch Lev.

Classical view as the base of microeconomic theory

Although it did not deal substantially with complex issues of a sophisticated

modern economy, the classical theory remains useful to the present day as the

basis of microeconomics, however many distinctions one cares to make or

macro-theory or political economy one chooses to apply to trade them off or set

their valuations in society at large.

Land has become natural capital, imitative aspects of Labor have become

instructional capital, creative or inspirational aspects or "Enterprise" have become

individual capital (in some analyses), and social capital has become increasingly

important. The classical relationship of financial capital and infrastructural capital

is still recognized as central, but there is a wider debate on means of production

and various means of protection, or "property rights", to secure their reliable use.

When disputes arise regarding these fine distinctions, most economists will

fall back to the three classical factors. While no major theory has yet substantially

altered the foundation assumptions of either "left" (Marxist) or "right"

(neoclassical) theory, Georgism is one syncretic system of thought incorporating

both a nominally socialist moral basis (everyone has an equal right of access to

nature) while strictly maintaining a solid "libertarian" philosophy on the absolute

right of private ownership of the products of all human labor.