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Definition: Capital |
CapitalAdjective1. (British) first-rate; "a capital fellow"; "a capital idea". 2. Punishable by death; "a capital offense". 3. Of primary important; "our capital concern was to avoid defeat". 4. Uppercase; "capital A"; "great A"; "many medieval manuscripts are in majuscule script". Noun1. Assets available for use in the production of further assets. 2. Wealth in the form of money or property owned by a person or business and human resources of economic value. 3. A seat of government. 4. One of the large alphabetic characters used as the first letter in proper names and sometimes for emphasis; (printers once kept type for capitals and small letters in separate cases; capitals were kept in the upper half of the type case and so became known as upper-case letters). 5. A book written by Karl Marx (1867) describing his economic theories. 6. The upper part of a column that supports the entablature. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "capital" was first used: 12th century. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Satire | CAPITAL, n. The seat of misgovernment. That which provides the fire, the pot, the dinner, the table and the knife and fork for the anarchist; the part of the repast that himself supplies is the disgrace before meat. Capital Punishment, a penalty regarding the justice and expediency of which many worthy persons -- including all the assassins -- entertain grave misgivings. Source: Devil's Dictionary. |
Business | The account showing as a credit the contribution or capital brought in at the start of the business and after and the results for the year and showing as debit withdrawals and loss for the year. Source: European Union. (references) |
| The account that shows as a credit the capital according to the memorandum and articles of association(i. e. share capital for a company, capital for a partnership), the increase in capital from shareholders(for a company)or partners(for a partnership), the transfer into reserves and that shows as a debit decreases in capital(losses, capital payments to a partner, etc. ). Source: European Union. (references) | |
| In a financial sense, proprietor's capital, loan capital ; in a sense relating to business economy, the total purchasing power possessed by the investments of a business management; the balance. Source: European Union. (references) | |
Finance | (1) funds raised by a business through the sale of stock plus retained earnings. (2) wealth, including money and property, owned, used, or accumulated by a person or a company. (3) assets minus liabilities equals net worth or capital. (references) |
Literature | Capital Money or money's worth available for production. "His capital is continually going from him [the merchant] in some shape, and returning to him in another."- Adam Smith: Wealth of Nations, vol. i. book ii. chap. i. p. 276. Active capital. Ready money or property readily convertible into it. Circulating capital. Wages, or raw material. This sort of capital is not available a second time for the same purpose. Fixed capital. Land, buildings, and machinery, which are only gradually consumed. Political capital is something employed to serve a political purpose. Thus, the Whigs make political capital out of the errors of the Tories, and vice versâ. "He tried to make capital out of his rival's discomfiture."- The Times. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Publishing & Graphic Arts | E. caps and small caps. . . capitals and small capitals in fonts of type. Directions for the compositor to set in small capitals, with the initial letters in large capitals. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The capital city or political capital of a country or other political entity is the city or town that contains the seat of government.
- Alternate uses: capital (economics) and capital (disambiguation)
Historically, it was also the place where the various economic forms of capital were concentrated for easier protection - the origin of the use of the term in economics.
A country may have more than one official capital at any given point in time. It may be separate from the actual seat of government or move about seasonally. Different branches of government may be centered in different cities.
See also: county town, county seat, borough seat.
- Lists of capitals: by name, by country (with also the largest city), by continent and country
- List of historical national capitals
- List of capitals of subnational entities
Political capital also refers to the goodwill that a government or politician has stored. By building up political capital by pursuing popular policies, a politician can then support unpopular policies yet have enough popular support to remain in office. Political capital refers to goodwill amongst the population at large; but it can also refer to goodwill with other lawmakers or officials. For example, if the President of the United States leans on Congress very hard to pass a proposal that it might not have passed without the President's attention, he is said to have spent some political capital.
see social capital
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Capital."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In Western architecture, the capital (from the Latin caput, 'head') forms the crowning member of the column, which projects on each side as it rises, in order to support the abacus and unite the square form of the latter with the circular shaft. The bulk of the capital may either be convex, as in the Doric order; concave, as in the bell of lhe Corinthian order; or bracketed out, as in the Ionic order. These form the three principal types on which all capitals are based.From the prominent position it occupies in all monumental buildings, the capital has always been the favourite feature selected for ornamentation, and consequently it has become the clearest indicator of any style.
Ancient capitals
The two earliest Egyptian capitals of importance are those which are based on the lotus and papyrus plants respectively, and these, with the palm tree capital, were the chief types employed by the Egyptians, until under the Ptolemies in the 3rd to 1st centuries BCE, various other river plants were also employed, and the conventional lotus capital went through various modifications.Some kind of volute capital is shown in the Assyrian bas-reliefs, but no Assyrian capital has ever been found; the enriched bases exhibited in the British Museum were initially taken for capitals.
The Achaemenid Persian capital belongs to the third, bracketed class above mentioned; the brackets are carved with the lion or the griffin projecting right and left to support the architrave, and on their backs carrying other brackets at right angles to support the cross timbers. The profuse decoration underneath the bracket capital in the palace of Xerxes at Susa and elsewhere, serves no structural function, but gives some variety to the extenuated shaft.
The earliest Aegean capital is that shown in the frescoes at Knossus in Crete (1600 B.C.); it was of the convex type, probably moulded in stucco. Capitals of the second, concave type, include the richly carved examples of the columns flanking the 'Tomb of Agamemnon' in Mycenae (c. 1100 BCE): they are carved with a chevron device, and with a concave apophyge on which the buds of some flowers are sculpted.
Classical capitals
The Doric capital is the simplest of the five Classical orders: it consists of the abacus above an ovolo molding, with an astragal collar set below. In the Temple of Apollo, Syracuse (c. 700 BCE), the echinus moulding has become a more definite form: this in the Parthenon reaches its culmination, where the convexity is at the top and bottom with a delicate uniting curve. The sloping side of the echinus becomes flatter in the later examples, and in the Colosseum at Rome forms a quarter round.In the Ionic capital spirally coiled volutes are inserted between the abacus and the ovolo. In the Ionic capitals of the archaic Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (560 BCE) the width of the abacus is twice that of its depth, consequently the earliest Ionic capital known was virtually a bracket capital. A century later, in the temple on the Ilissus, the abacus has become square.
The foliage of the Greek Corinthian capital was based on the Acanthus spinosus, that of the Roman on the Acanthus mollis. They are genereally carbed in two ranks or bands, like one leafy cup set within another. One of the most beautiful Corinthian capitals is that from the Tholos of Epidaurus (400 B.C.); it illustrates the transition between the earlier Greek capital, as at Bassae, and the Roman version.
In Roman architectural practice, capitals are briefly treated in their proper context among the detailing proper to each of the 'Orders', in the only complete architectural textbook to have survived from classical times, the Ten Books On Architecture, by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, better known just as Vitruvius, dedicated to the emperor Augustus. The various orders are discussed in Vitruvius' books iii and iv. Vitruvius describes Roman practice in a practical fashion. He gives some tales about the invention of each of the Orders, but he does not give a hard-and-fast set of canonical rules for the execution of capitals.
Two further, specifically Roman orders of architecture have their characteristic capitals, the sturdy and primitive Tuscan capitals, typically used in military buildings, similar to Greek Doric, but with fewer small moldings in its profile, and the invented Composite capitals not even mentioned by Vitruvius, which combined Ionic volutes and Corinthian acanthus capitals, in an order that was otherwise quite similar in proportions to the Corinthian, itself an order that Romans employed much more often than Greeks.
The adoption of Composite capitals signals a trend towards freer, more inventive (and often coarser) capitals in the Late Antique.
Byzantine and Gothic capitals
Byzantine capitals are of endless variety; the Roman composite capital would seem to have been the favourite type they followed at first: subsequently, the block of stone was left rough as it came from the quarry, and the sculptor, set to carve it, evolved new types of design to his own fancy, so that one rarely meets with many repetitions of the same design. One of the most remarkable is the capital in which the leaves are carved as if blown by the wind; the finest example being in Santa Sophia, Thessalonica; those in the Cathedral of Saint Mark, Venice specially attracted Ruskin's fancy. Others appear in St Apollinare-in-Classe, Ravenna.The capital in San Vitale, Ravenna shows above it the dosseret required to carry the arch, the springing of which was much wider than the abacus of the capital.
The Romanesque and Gothic capitals throughout Europe present as much variety as in the Byzantine and for the same reason, that the artist evolved his conception of the design trom the block he was carving, but in these styles it goes further on account of the clustering of columns and piers.
The earliest type of capital in Lombardy and Germany is that which is known as the cushion-cap, in which the lower portion of the cube block has been cut away to meet the circular shaft. These early types were generally painted at first with various geometrical designs, afterwards carved.
In Byzantine capitals, the eagle, the lion and the lamb are occasionally carved, but treated conventionally. In England and France, the figures introduced into the capitals are sometimes full of character. These capitals, however, are not equal to those of the Early English school,in which the foliage is conventionally treated as if it had been copied from metalwork, and is of infinite variety, being found in small village churches as well as in cathedrals.
Renaissance and post-Renaissance capitals
In the Renaissance period the feature became of the greatest importance and its variety almost as great as in the Byzantine and Gothic styles. The flat pilaster, which was employed so extensively in the Renaissance, called for a planar rendition of the capital, executed in high relief. This affected the designs of capitals. A traditional 15th century Early Renaissance variant of the Composite capital turns the volutes inwards above stiffened leaf carving. In new Renaissance combinations in capital designs, most of the ornament can be traced to Roman sources.The Renaissance was as much a reinterpretation as a revival of Classical norms. The volutes of Greek and Roman Ionic capitals lie in the same plane as the architrave above them. This may create an awkward transition at the corner, where, for example, the designer of the Temple of Athene Nike on the Acropolis, brought the outside volute of the end capitals forward at a 45-degree angle. The problem was more satisfactorily solved by the 16th century Renaissance architect Sebastiano Serlio, who angled outwards all the volutes of his Ionic capitals. Since then, the use of antique Ionic capitals, instead of the Serlian version, has tended to lend an archaic air to the entire context, as in Greek Revival
Within the bounds of decorum, a certain amount of inventive play has always been acceptable within the classical tradition. When Benjamin Latrobe redesigned the Senate Vestibule in the United States Capitol in 1807, he introduced six columns that he 'Americanized' with ears of corn (maize) substituting for the European acanthus leaves. As Latrobe reported to Thomas Jefferson in August 1809,
Text formerly based on the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1911. (This entry is begging for illustrations, perhaps engravings in the public domain.)
- "These capitals during the summer session obtained me more applause from members of Congress than all the works of magnitude or difficulty that surround them. They christened them the 'corncob capitals'."
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Capital (architecture)."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
- In geography and political science, the political capital of a country is the city that contains the seat of government. See Capital (government).
- In finance and economics, capital refers to financial wealth. See Capital (economics).
- In architecture, the capital of a pillar or column is its top part. See capital (architecture).
- In orthography, a capital letter is another term for an uppercase letter or majuscule.
- In literature, Capital is the English title of Das Kapital by Karl Marx.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Capital (disambiguation)."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Capital has a number of related meanings in economics, finance and accounting.
In finance and accounting, capital generally refers to financial wealth, especially that used to start or maintain a business. It is assumed that other styles of capital, e.g. physical capital, can be acquired with money, so there is little need for any further analysis.
Capital in classical economic theory
In classical economics, capital is one of three factors of production, the others being land and labour. Goods with the following features are capital:Investment in classical economic theory is the act of producing capital. In order to invest, goods must be produced which are not to be immediately consumed, but instead used to produce other goods as a means of production. Investment is closely related to saving.
- It can be used in the production of other goods (this is what makes it a factor of production).
- It is man-made, in contrast to land, which means naturally occurring resources such as geographical locations and minerals.
- It is not used up immediately in the process of production.
The Austrian economist Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk maintained that capital intensity within a certain industry as determined by consumer demand rather than the supply of saving, through the roundaboutness of production processes.
Modern economic analysis of capital
Traditional economic theory tended to see capital as physical items such as tools, buildings and vehicles. More recently economists have focussed on broader forms of capital. For example, investment in skills and education can be viewed as building up human capital (or in more detailed analyses, building up individual capital using instructional capital, recognizing that both the individual and the instruction may benefit from the interaction).Some theories use the terms intellectual capital or knowledge capital which lead to certain questions and controversies discussed in those articles. In general, intellectual capital is that which produces new "intellectual property", and that in turn is "whatever one can get paid royalties for". These are terms that rightly belong in law but mean little in economics.
In modern economic theories, the less controversial analyses break down each of the major factors of production as its own 'style' of capital, allowing for the capital appreciation and depreciation of each asset. Such analyses recognize four styles of capital, or in more detail, six:
More modern analyses differentiate the latter three. They also avoid the term "human" in part to avoid implying that humans are owned, and so that non-human instructional capital (e.g. software), non-human individual capital (e.g. orang-utans painting, or a race-winning horse, or prize stud bull), and the activities of government can be analyzed more exactly for performance, e.g. in a health observatory.
- Financial capital which represents obligations, and is liquidated as money for trade, and owned by legal entities.
- Natural capital which is inherent in ecologies and protected by communities to support life, e.g. a river which provides farms with water.
- Infrastructural capital is non-natural support systems (e.g. clothing, shelter, roads, PCs) that minimize need for new social trust, instruction, and natural resources. (almost all of this is manufactured, leading to the older term manufactured capital, but some arises from interactions with natural capital, and so it makes more sense to describe it in terms of its appreciation/depreciation process, rather than its origin: natural capital grows back, infrastructural capital must be built and installed).
- Human capital, which in macro-economics or even modern theories such as Natural Capitalism, is narrowly treated as just another way to generate money (via salary). Human development theory recognizes it as being composed of clear and distinctive social, imitative and creative elements:
- Social capital is trust available to all members of a community (e.g. family, guild, customer base), which is typically applied to distribute resources in case of difficult times. Governments tend to rely heavily on social capital, and in some ways trade on it directly by collecting taxes and spending the funds on things which further advance society. Historically in the Western world it was represented and later protected as what came to be known as trademark.
- Instructional capital which is adequately-tested knowledge that persons and communities and software executes to predict/create or avoid futures that they consider desirable, or not. A close parallel term is 'ideas applied in practice', or 'praxis'. Historically in the Western world it was commonly recognized and protected via the patent system that provides limited exclusive rights to gain from an invention.
- Individual capital which is inherent in persons, protected by societies, and trades labor for trust or money . Close parallel concepts are 'talent', 'ingenuity', 'leadership', 'trained bodies', or 'innate skills' that cannot reliably be reproduced by using any combination of any of the others above. Accordingly, it must be seen as a style of capital in its own right. Historically in the Western world it was recognized and rewarded via copyright, even in cases of political or religious leaders (who often fund their retirement by sales of memoirs).
Although it is still possible to calculate the traditional macro economic idea of "human capital" yield (economics) as payments (like salary), it is rarely or not used when discussing the process of planning investment: for this it is broken down into the more specific styles, which are distinct when one considers the means of identifying them, investing in, and exploiting them. The term "human capital" may thus do more harm than good.
Another prompting for the more exact and deeper six-style analysis is that infrastructural capital has declined in financial value relative to intellectual rights, and natural resources have become more scarce. Meanwhile, both human development and biodiversity have become a main priority of government in every developed nation.
In part as a result, separate literatures have developed to describe both natural capital and social capital. Such terms reflect a wide consensus that nature and society both function in such a similar manner as traditional industrial infrastructural capital, that it is entirely appropriate to refer to them as styles of capital in themselves. In particular, they can be used in the production of other goods, are not used up immediately in the process of production, and can be enhanced (if not created) by human effort.
There is also a literature of intellectual capital and intellectual property law. However, this increasingly distinguishes means of capital investment, and collection of potential rewards for patent (imitative or instructional capital), copyright (creative or individual capital), and trademark (social trust or social capital) instruments. Literature that makes these distinctions tends to parallel the six-style analysis, which explains why three distinct bodies of law would have evolved in the first place.
Some analysts, e.g. Baruch Lev, claim there are seven styles of capital. It is not clear how his analysis relates to that of human development theory, as it arises from management accounting practices. It is not very widely used, not at all outside the US, and is under some suspicion as it emerged during the dotcom boom and did not specifically claim that those companies were grossly overvalued or corrupt, as later events proved them to be. This has led to speculation that political capital, or political influence or corruption, is his actual seventh factor. This is probably oversimplified, but calls for comprehensive accounting reform have reached the highest levels in the US, particularly in the wake of major accounting scandals, so it is hard to wholly dismiss this concern.
See also
- capitalism
- venture capital
- factors of production
- list of economists
- list of management topics
- list of marketing topics
- list of accounting topics
- list of finance topics
- list of ethics topics
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Capital (economics)."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Numerous cities have been the capital of China during the course of history.
State of Yan in Spring and Autumn Period: called Ji (薊 ji4)
- Anyang was the capital during the Yin period of Shang Dynasty
- Beijing was and has been the capital of various Chinese governments including (sorted chronologically):
Liao Dynasty, as a secondary capital: called Yanjing (燕京 yan4 jing1 "city of Yan")
Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) from Jin Shi Zong until 1220s (1217?): called Zhongdu (中都 zhong1 du1 "central city")
Yuan Dynasty: called Dadu (大都 da4 du1 "great city")
Ming Dynasty since Yongle Emperor of China: called Jingshi (京師 jing1 shi1 "metropolis")
Qing Dynasty since the fall of Ming in 1644.
the current capital of the People's Republic of China
Western Han Dynasty, from 206 BC to AD 9.
- Chang'an (modern day Xi'an) was the capital of various Chinese governments including (sorted chronologically):
Western Wei Dynasty and Northern Zhou Dynasty
Sui Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Wu Yue Kingdom (904-978), during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
- Changchun was the capital of the Manchukuo, a nominally independent puppet state set up by the Japanese in Manchuria from 1931 to 1945: called Xingjing or Tsinking (新京; xing1 jing1 "new capital")
- Chongqing City was the provisonal capital of the government of Chiang Kaishek during World War II (Second Chinese-Japanese War).
- Datong was the capital during Northern Wei Dynasty before moving to Luoyang in 493 AD.
- Hangzhou was the capital of:
China during the Southern Song
Three Kingdoms
- Hao was the capital during Western Zhou Dynasty.
- Jiankang (formerly Jianye) was the capital of various Chinese governments including (sorted chronologically):
Six Dynasty
Later Liang Dynasty during the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
- Kaifeng was the capital of various Chinese governments including (sorted chronologically):
Later Jin Dynasty during the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
Later Han Dynasty during the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
Later Zhou Dynasty during the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
Northern Song Dynasty
Eastern Zhou Dynasty
- Luoyang was the capital of various Chinese governments including (sorted chronologically):
Eastern Han Dynasty from AD 25 to AD 220.
Kingdom of Wei during the Three Kingdoms.
Western Jin Dynasty
Northern Wei Dynasty since 493 AD, moved its capital from Datong.
Later Tang Dynasty during the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
all of the Six Dynasties:
- Nanjing was the capital of various Chinese governments including (sorted chronologically):
- Kingdom of Wu during the Three Kingdoms
- Eastern Jin Dynasty
- Song Dynasty
- Qi Dynasty,
- Liang Dynasty
- Chen Dynasty
Ming Dynasty before Yongle Emperor moved the capital to Beijing.
Republic of China after the Northern Expedition until the Japanese invasion in 1937 of WWII, and after the war until Chiang Kai-Shek retreated to Taiwan in 1949. (It is still the "official" ROC capital.)
collaborationist government of Wang Jingwei
The Chinese phrase Four Great Ancient Capitals of China (中国四大古都 pinyin zhong1 guo2 si4 da4 gu3 du1) refers to Nanjing, Beijing, Xi'an, and Luoyang.
- Taipei has been the provisional capital of the Republic of China (on Taiwan) since 1949
- Wuhan was the capital of a leftist Kuomintang government led by Wang Jingwei in opposition to Chiang Kaishek during the 1920s.
- Xi'an (see Chang'an)
- Ye was the capital of Eastern Wei Dynasty and Northern Qi Dynasty.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Capital of China."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Capital punishment, also referred to as the Death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offence or a capital crime. In those jurisdictions that practice capital punishment, its use is usually restricted to a small number of criminal offences, principally, treason and murder, that is, the deliberate premeditated killing of another person. Prisoners who have been sentenced to death are usually kept segregated from other prisoners in a special part of the prison, pending their execution. In some places this segregated area is known as Death Row.
Methods of execution
Methods of execution have varied over time, and include:
- Lethal injection
- Decapitation (by sword, axe or guillotine) (The term capital punishment derives from the fact that it was originally administered by means of decapitation.)
- Electrocution in an electric chair
- Hanging
- Gassing
- Strangulation
- Drowning
- Burning
- Crucifixion
- Impalement
- Crushing
- Stoning
- Shooting by firing squad
- Disembowelment
- Various animal-related methods
- Tearing apart by horses
- Devouring by wild animals
- Crushing by elephant
Capital punishment around the world
Amnesty International publishes a annual report on official judicial execution. In 2001 there were 3,048 reported cases in 31 countries. 90% of the deaths occurred in four countries. The People's Republic of China carried out 2,468 executions. Iran killed 139 people, Saudi Arabia 79 and the United States 66. In 2000 there had been 1,457 executions. The PRC has executed 20,000 between 1990 and 2001 with 1,781 people executed between April and July 2001 in a "Strike Hard" crime crackdown.
The highest per capita use of the death penalty is Singapore, with a population of about four million.
In most countries that have capital punishment, it is used to punish only murder and/or for war-related crimes. In some countries, like the People's Republic of China, even non-violent crimes, like drug and business related crimes, are punished with capital punishment.
Most democratic countries today have abolished the death penalty, such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, almost all of Europe and much of Latin America. Together 111 countries either do not have or do not use the death penalty. Many other states retain it, especially in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Caribbean and the United States.
The most comprehensive source lists less than 15,000 people executed in United States or its predecessors between 1608 and 1991.[1] More accurate statistics list 4661 executions in the U.S. in the period 1930-2002 with about 2/3 of the executions occurring in the first twenty years.[1] Additionally the U.S. Army executed 160 soldiers between 1930 and 1967. The last U.S. Navy execution was in 1849.
Only seven countries practice the death penalty for juveniles, that is criminals aged under 18 at the time of their crime. Nearly all actual executions for juvenile crime take place in the USA, although, due to the slow process of appeals, no one under age 19 has been executed since at least 1964. [1] Although the People's Republic of China accounts for the vast majority of executions in the world, it does not allow for the executions of those under 18. [1] Execution of those aged under age 18 has also occurred in the Congo, Pakistan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Iran since 1990. [1]
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which forbids capital punishment for juveniles, has been signed by all countries except the USA and Somalia, so it is likely that legally executing children (as defined by the Convention), will continue to be restricted to the USA.
Electric chair as used for electrocutions. The electric chair was developed in the late 1880s with support from Thomas Edison and is still in use today.
Image in the public domain, courtesy of PDImages.com.There are a number of international conventions prohibiting the death penalty, most notably the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Sixth Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights. However, such conventions only bind those that are party to them; customary international law permits the death penalty.
Several international organizations have made the abolition of the death penalty a requirement of membership, most notably the European Union and the Council of Europe. The European Union requires outright abolition of the death penalty by states wishing to join; the Council of Europe also requires this, but is willing to accept a moratorium as an interim measure. Thus, while Russia is a member of the Council of Europe, and practices the death penalty in law, it has not made use of it since becoming a member of the Council.
The same was also true of Turkey, but in August 2002, as a move towards EU membership, the death penalty was removed from law as well as practice. As a result of this, Europe is a continent free of the death penalty in practice, with the sole exception of Belarus, which is not a member of the Council of Europe. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has also been lobbying for the Council of Europe observer states who practice the death penalty (namely the United States and Japan) to be told to abolish it also or lose their observer status.
Arguments for and against the death penalty
Support for the death penalty varies widely from nation to nation, and it can be a highly contentious political issue, particularly in democracies that use it. A majority of adults in the United States appear to support its continuance (though like most political issues, the numbers vary widely depending on the exact question asked), but a highly vocal, organised minority of people in that country do not, and non-governmental organisations like Amnesty lobby against it globally. In Taiwan, the death penalty appears to have large amounts of public support, and there is little public movement to abolish it. By contrast, in most of Western Europe, public opinion overwhelming regards capital punishment as barbaric and there is little public support for its reinstatement. In countries where it has been abolished, debate is sometimes revived by particularly brutal murders, though few countries have brought it back after abolition.
Some of the major arguments used by those opposed to the death penalty include:
Different groups of death penalty opponents favour different arguments. Core death-penalty opponents are perhaps more likely to primarily base their opposition on "the death penalty is murder" arguments, and advance the issues of wrong convictions and ethnic bias to convince waverers.
- The death penalty is killing. Killing is wrong, therefore the death penalty is wrong.
- This is a human rights violation.
- Torture and cruelty are wrong. Many executions are botched and the executed suffer extended pain in dying, and even those who die instantly suffer extreme mental torture leading up to and during the preliminaries of the execution process.
- Criminal proceedings are fallible. Many people facing the death penalty have been exonerated, sometimes only minutes before their scheduled execution. Others, however, have been executed before evidence clearing them is discovered. Whilst criminal trials not involving the death penalty can involve mistakes, there is at least the opportunity for mistakes to be corrected.
- At least in the United States, poor people and those from ethnic minorities are more likely to be executed than whites convicted of similar crimes. Hence, its application is selective and unfair. Additionally, it is argued that the race of the victim can also affect the likelihood of the application of the death penalty, which again is unfair.
- It can encourage police misconduct as in the incident described in the documentary film The Thin Blue Line. In the late 1970s, an innocent man named Randall Adams was framed by the Dallas County police department in Texas for a notorious murder of a police officer because they knew the more likely suspect, David Harris, was still a minor and thus ineligible for the death penalty so Adams had to serve as a scapegoat to execute.
- It is not a deterent because anyone that would be detered by the death penalty would already have been detered by life in prison, and people that are not detered by that wouldn't be stopped by any punishment.
Key arguments for supporters of the death penalty include:
There is ongoing debate whether capital punishment reduces crime rates, because potential murderers (or other criminals) would be too scared of punishment to commit crime, or it doesn't at all affect crime rate, because potential criminals think they won't be caught, so they don't care about punishment until it's too late. There are even studies that have concluded that the death penalty appears to encourage murder. However, like many questions in the social sciences, actual research data on this question can be (and is) interpreted very differently by people with differing predispositions towards capital punishment. In any event, the actual effectiveness or otherwise of it is largely irrelevant to many who feel strongly about the debate, as their views are based on other factors.
- That people committing the most heinous crimes (usually murder, in Western countries that practice the death penalty) have forfeited the right to life so executing them is not murder.
- Government is not an individual and is given far more powers; therefore, executions are not "murder."
- Since the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, a murderer is likely to murder again, so execution prevents future murders.
- That it provides peace of minds for victims of crime and their families.
- Beliefs in reciprocity - essentially, "an eye for an eye" - which is part of the concept of justice for many people.
- That it is in fact less cruel than prolonged sentences of imprisonment, especially under the conditions that would be popularly demanded for heinous criminals.
- That it is explicitly allowed in constitutions and other documents of basic law.
- That it enjoys democratic support of the people.
- That it deters crime.
Religious views of the death penalty
Death penalty in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible, Old Testament)
The Tanakh prescribes the death penalty for a great many violations of law. Most historians no longer accept the view that the laws of the Bible, as written, were ever actually followed as a legal code. Instead, they hold that the laws in the Bible were developed in a living society and culture, and that the oral law of this society was not identical to what one would posit from a literal reading of the Biblical text alone. Rabbinic Jews have always held this view; they go further and teach that a specific oral law (later redacted in the Talmud) explains the meaning and context of these Biblical laws. In this view the death penalty was rarely used, and exceedingly difficult to carry out.
Jewish view of the death penalty
The Jewish view of all laws in the Bible, not just the death penalty, is based on the reading of the Bible as seen through Judaism's corpus of oral law. These laws were first redacted around 200 CE in the Mishnah and later around 550 CE in the Talmud.
These laws make it clear that the death penalty was only used in extremely rare cases. Rabbinic law developed a detailed system of checks and balances to make sure that the penalty could only be carried out if there were two witnesses to the crime, if the witnesses then verbally warned the person that they were liable for the death penalty, and that the person then had to acknowledge that he/she was warned, but then went ahead and committed the sin regardless. Further, an individual was not allowed to testify against themselves. As such, the death penalty was effectively legislated out of existence.
Christian view of the death penalty
Jesus Christ underwent the death penalty by crucifixion. His trial was affected by popular opinion. His death is frequently depicted in religious art, and the cross, either with or without his body on it, is the primary symbol of Christianity.
For many Christians, this is enough to condemn capital punishment. Nonetheless, Christians are divided about the issue. Those in favor of capital punishment most often build their views on a New Testament verse in which Christ allegedly advocates capital punishment for crimes against children.
Muslim view of the death penalty
A Muslim may be sentenced to death under Shariah, Islamic law, for the murder of a Muslim, adultery, apostasy (deserting Islam), a third conviction for drinking alcohol and a fifth conviction for theft. A dhimmi (zimmi, non-Muslim living in an Islamic state) can be executed for sex with a Muslim woman, and "persecution" of Islam, for example blasphemy against Allah or Prophet Muhammad, or attempting to proselytise, i.e. convert a Muslim from his religion.
Shariah is not in force in many Muslim countries with a Muslim majority, especially those which still have laws on their statute books which date from their colonial past. One of the aims of Islamic fundamentalists is to re-introduce Shariat and that is one reason why HRAIC opposes fundamentalism.
Hindu view of the death penalty
(to be added)
Related articles
- Use of death penalty worldwide provides a full listing of which countries have and have not abolished the death penalty.
- List of people who were executed
- Life imprisonment
- Amnesty International
- Capital punishment in the United Kingdom
Literature
Stuart Banner: The Death Penalty: An American History. Harvard University Press, 2002. ISBN 0674007514.
David R. Dow, Mark Dow (Eds.): Machinery of Death. The Reality of America's Death Penalty Regime. Routledge, New York, 2002. ISBN 0415932661 (cloth), ISBN 041593267X (paper).
- This book provides critical perspectives on the death penalty. It contains a foreword by Christopher Hitchens.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Capital punishment."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Capitalism generally refers to
- a combination of economic practices that became institutionalized in Europe between the 16th and 19th centuries, especially involving the formation and trade in ownership of corporations (see corporate personhood and companies) for buying and selling goods, especially capital goods (including land and labor), in a relatively free (meaning, free from state control) market
- competing (and contentious) theories that developed in the 19th century, in the context of the industrial revolution, and 20th century, in the context of the Cold War, meant to justify the private ownership of capital, to explain the operation of such markets, and to guide the application or elimination of government regulation of property and markets
- and beliefs about the advantages of such practices.
Capitalism as an economic system
There is much debate over how to define capitalism. Some proponents of capitalism (like Milton Friedman) tend to emphasise the role of efficient free markets, which, they claim, promote individual freedom and democracy. For many (like Wallerstein), capitalism hinges on the elaboration of an economic system in which goods and services are traded in markets, and capital goods belong to non-state entities, onto a global scale. For others (like Marx), it is defined by the creation of a labor market. As Marx observed (see also Hilaire Belloc) capitalism is also distinguished from other market economies with private ownership by the concentration of the means of production in the hands of a few.
According to Karl Marx, the treatment of labor as a commodity led to people valuing things more according to their price rather than their usefulness (see commodity fetishism) and to an expansion of the system of commodities. Marx observed that some people bought commodities in order to use them, while others bought them in order to sell elsewhere at a profit. Much of the history of late capitalism involves what David Harvey called the "system of flexible accumulation" in which more and more things become commodities the value of which is determined by their exchange rather than by their use. Thus not only are pins commodities; shares of ownership in a factory that makes pins become commodities; then options on shares become commodities; then portions of interest rates on bonds become commodities, and so on. The predominance of commodity speculation in modern capitalism very much shapes its results.
The following example introduces many of the ideas involved in capitalism. When starting a business, the initial owners typically provide some money (the Capital) which is used by the business to buy or rent some means of production. For example, the enterprise may buy or rent a piece of land and a building,; it may buy machinery and hire workers (Labour). If more money is needed than the initial owners are willing to provide, the business may to borrow a limited amount of extra money with a promise to pay it back with interest - in effect it may rent more capital. The business then has a degree of legal authority, and thereby hopefully control, over a set of factors of production (as economists call them). The business can register as a corporate entity, meaning that it can act as a type of virtual person in many matters before the law (see Companies for listing of such entities). The owners can pay themselves some of the income derived from the business (Dividends), sell shares in the company, or they can sell all of the equipment, land, and other assets, and split the proceeds between them.
Traditionally capitalist economies have had corporations working along the lines of the above example existing in parallel with other types of organisation such as governments, sole traders, partnerships and sometimes cooperatives, credit unions, and other entities. Observers do not always agree which of these organisations, or which features of them are part of capitalism, although most often companies, or many features of their operation, are included as part of the definition.
Additionally, many of the characteristics and techniques of business workings in the above example existed before capitalism, and many have continued to be added. So this leaves much room for debate. However, many people agree that it was around the time when share-trading in corporate bodies became common and widely understood that capitalism can be said to have begun, even though there is often disagreement that it was the share-trading itself that defined capitalism. Such share trading first took place widely in Europe during the 17th century and continued to develop and spread thereafter, although the word "Capitalism" itself did not come into use until the 19th century.
One can view shares as converting company ownership into a commodity - the ownership rights are divided into units (the shares) for ease of trading in them. In a similar way, one can view bonds as a commoditisation of debt. Other financial instruments have come into being since the early years of capitalism that have commoditised fluctuations in markets, future prices, classes of items, and many other things. Increases in communications technologies have helped facilitate an increase in the number and availability of financial instruments, and the ease of trading.
Under the bulk of capitalist economies, a predominant proportion of productive capacity has belonged to corporate bodies such as companies. Therefore, to a large degree, authority over productive capacity has resided with the owners of companies. Within legal limits and the financial means available to them, the owners of each company can decide how it will operate. This normally includes deciding the following things (among many others):
In larger companies, authority is usually delegated in a hierarchical system of management. When company ownership is spread among many shareholders, the shareholders generally have votes in the exercise of authority over the company in proportion to the size of their share of ownership.
- which land production will take place on,
- how many people to employ,
- what activities employees will do,
- which machines and tools to use for production.
Importantly, the owners receive any profits or proceeds generated by the productive capacity that they own - sometimes in the form of dividends, other times in the form of profits being re-invested in the capacity that is owned. The price at which ownership of productive capacity sells is generally in rough proportion to the profits currently being generated and/or expected to be generated by that productive capacity in the future.
Owners who invest in a company for financial reasons intend to profit from dividends or through selling their share at an increased value. Philanthropists might purchase shares so as to be able to use their influence to create benefits other than, or in addition to, financial rewards. Capitalism is based on structures which use money flow to encourage growth, while it is the freedom of a society which allows individuals to choose the use of their money, and their philosophies which influences the purposes to which money can be applied.
Characteristics of Capitalist Economies
Economic Growth
Capitalist economies have shown an erratic but sustained tendency towards economic growth, when measured as an increase in GDP. They have on occasion been through nearly disastrous periods (such as the Great depression), and some have argued that it has only been government intervention that has prevented capitalist economies from collapsing. Others argue that such near collapses have been the result of government intervention that has gone wrong. Some argue that it is only government intervention that has enabled capitalist economies to ever grow at all, or that economic growth in capitalist economies is not due to capitalism itself, but exists despite capitalism - perhaps due to some other reason such as increased scientific knowledge, or some form of imperialism. Others have argued that the natural tendency of capitalism is to continuous growth and that government intervention is the cause of depressions. Yet others argue that growth, or often growth without enough freedom, is a bad thing. Still others argue that modern capitalism has been a disaster because of its other effects besides the growth of GDP. Further discussion on these points might be found in following sections. Nevertheless, good or bad, because of or despite capitalism, it can be seen from history that there has been a sustained tendency for capitalist economies to grow over time.
Distribution of Wealth
Capitalist economies have shown an uneven distribution of wealth. Typically between 0.5% and 1% of people own more than half of productive capacity, if not half of all wealth. Various studies have shown distributions with the peak in the distribution at or near zero with fewer people owning progressively higher wealth. Common mathematical models of such distributions include power-law distributions, exponential distributions, and mixtures of the two. In these distributions some people own hundreds of thousands, or sometimes millions of times more than average.
Fairness
Critics of the distribution of wealth point out issues such as:
This seems to strike many people as being unfair and/or dysfunctional. This is a matter of opinion if based on emotion.
- Most characteristics of people, such as height or weight, and it might be surmised people's productivity, are distributed according to a bell shaped curve with a peak at the average and few people far on either side.
- Height and weight are restricted to similar ranges in people by similar genetic and physical characteristics.
- Productivity varies in quantity, quality, and result. Whether through preference, skill or opportunity, not everyone can be a highly paid plumber, not everyone can manage dozens of retail store workers, and not everyone can build a new company.
- For example there are no people 100,000 times as tall as average, in fact there are none even 2 times as tall as average.
- In fact there are physical limits on height, while there is no limit to what a person might influence and accomplish.
- More effort can not increase height and additional height can not be used to increase height.
- If height were distributed in the same way as wealth with the same average height as now, most people would be under 1 meter (3 feet) tall, but you would still see people 100 kilometers (60 miles) tall, if you could see up that far, and the wealthiest would rise well into space.
- Trying to compare height to wealth is like comparing apples to asteroids. Different possibilities, processes, and limits affect their characteristics.
It is not agreed as to why capitalist economies do not distribute wealth in a bell-shaped fashion or why they tend to collect or create it in such an unequal fashion.
Issues and opinions include:
Further discussion on these points might be found in following sections. While it may be debated as to whether capitalism causes the uneven distribution of wealth in capitalist economies, or whether it is good or bad, it is clear that capitalist economies do have uneven wealth distributions.
- Collection of wealth in relatively few hands serves a function that in the end benefits all. (see philanthropist)
- Capitalist economies allocate wealth to the rich because they deserve it (see wealth).
- Society requires that they have it as an incentive, or for any number of reasons (see motivation).
- Wealth is not beneficial to anyone - not even the wealthy.
- The cause is not enough capitalism.
- Perhaps government interference in markets protects the wealthy.
- Capitalism hasn't been properly implemented yet.
- Uneven distribution of wealth shows capitalism to be faulty, or immoral (see class envy).
- Present wealth distribution is the only possible outcome of capitalism.
- Many people have little wealth left over after living expenses, so they can't make it grow quickly.
- Financial markets and banks where most wealth is stored act as a means of redistribution of wealth ( see banking.
Freedom of Choice
- In a free society owners of wealth or property can sell it and spend the resulting money on whatever they choose. Some wealth is reinvested, some is used for philanthropy, some is given for purposes which the person thinks are worth supporting.
Creation of Wealth
Wealth is created through several means.
The obvious example is to consider your earliest ancestor. Building a house converted trees to something more valuable. Hunting and firewood created food and fed a growing family. Agriculture converted labor into more food and resources. Continuing use of resources and effort has allowed many descendants to own much more than that first house. This is more obvious to those working with physical material, while a cubicle worker may not be aware that their work is creating something which is more valuable to their employer than the amount which is being paid in exchange, thus creating wealth.
- Natural resources can be harvested and sold to those who want them.
- Material can be changed into something more valuable through proper application of labor and equipment.
- Better methods also create wealth by allowing faster creation of wealth.
- Ideas create wealth by allowing it to be created faster or with new methods.
- Laws can create wealth, for example by a legal system of private property allowing property to be owned, or by patents which allow ideas to have a price associated with their use
Zero-Sum Game
Critics of the distribution of wealth often believe economic exchange is a zero-sum game, where there is a limited amount of wealth and some must lose in order for some to gain it. This criticism is usually based in economic theories which distinguish between and intrinsic and an exchange value of an object such as the labor theory of value still current among many socialists and communists. Capitalist theories of voluntary economic exchange usually leave both parties better off as both would not be trading were the outcome more desirable. The value of goods thus becomes personal and highly dependent on their distribution. Ludwig von Mises and Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk were both outspoken critics of believers in capitalism as an exploitative zero-sum game.
Evolving Network Structure
Capitalist economies have large numbers of companies and people free to enter into many types of arrangements with each other. The economy reacts to various changes in technologies, discoveries, and other situations, by means of companies and individuals re-assessing their arrangements with each other. Therefore, the control mechanisms of the economy, and the way that information flows through it, evolve over time, and are subject to a kind of "survival of the fittest" form of selection not unlike biological entities. Analysis of the networks of connections and arrangements in the economy has shown a degree of similarity to other networks such as the phone system or the Internet. [1] has examples of networks of company directors. Networks of customer links, and monetary flows exhibit similar structures.
Some see the evolution of capitalist economies as a positive adaptation and tendency towards improvement. Others see it as pointless random and chaotic fluctuations.
Unknown/Unapproved Direction of Capitalist Economies
While there is a great deal of planning within companies and other organisations in capitalist economies, there is no economy-wide direction, or even any reliable prediction or knowledge of how the economy will behave or perform more than a year into the future. While nearly all transactions may be approved of and planned by the people taking part, many society-wide phenomena emerging from the transactions or markets are often not planned, predicted, or approved or authorised by anyone.
Unemployment/Employment
Since individuals typically earn income through finding a company for which to work, it is possible that not all individuals will be able to find a company that will want their labor at a given time. This would not be such a big problem in an economy in which individuals had access to the resources to provide for themselves, but when ownership of the bulk of productive resources is collected in relatively few hands, most individuals are made dependent on employment for their well being. It is normal that all real capitalist economies have fluctuating unemployment rates typically between 3 and 15%. Occasionally they have reached levels of 30%, and occasionally they have fallen to 2 or 1%, but rarely is there enough employment for all. Some economists consider a certain level of unemployment to be necessary for capitalist economies to function.
Criticisms of Capitalism
Marxists and others criticize capitalism for enriching capitalists (owners of capital) at the expense of workers without necessarily working themselves ("the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer"), and for the degree of control over the lives of workers enjoyed by owners. Supporters of capitalism counter this criticism by claiming that ownership of productive capacity provides motivation to owners to increase productive capacity and so generally increase the average material wealth ("we all get richer").
Marxists believe that the capitalism allows capitalists - the owners of capital - to exploit workers. The existence of private property is seen as a restriction on freedom. Marxists also argue that capitalism has inherent contradictions that will inevitably lead to its collapse. Capitalism is seen as just one stage in the evolution of the economy of a society.
Marxists also often argue that the structure of capitalism necessarily leads to unjust exploitation of workers, regardless of whether or not the political system is one of an elected democracy or not. For this reason Marxists typically emphasise the capitalist economic system of western countries rather than the democratic political system. A capitalist system is an economic system - although often associated with democratic systems, capitalist systems have functioned well under unelected governments, two examples being Hong Kong and Singapore.
In mainland China differences in terminology sometimes confuse and complicate discussions of Chinese economic reform. Under Chinese Marxism, which is the official state ideology, capitalism refers to a stage of history in which there is a class system in which the proletariat is exploited by the bourgeoisie. In the official Chinese ideology, China is currently in the primary stage of socialism with Chinese characteristics. However, because of Deng Xiaoping's dictum to seek truth from facts, this view does not prevent China from undertaking policies which in the West would be considered capitalistic including employing wage labor, increasing unemployment to motivate those who are still working, transforming state owned enterprises into joint stock companies, and encouraging the growth of the joint venture and private capitalist sectors.
Capitalism and Imperialism
J.A. Hobson, a British liberal writing at the time of the fierce debate on imperialism during the Boer War, observed the spectacle of the Scramble for Africa and emphasized changes in European social structures and attitudes as well as capital flow, though his emphasis on the latter seems to have been the most influential and provocative. His so-called accumulation theory suggested that that capitalism suffered from under-consumption due the rise of monopoly capitalism and the resultant concentration of wealth in fewer hands, which apparently gave rise to a misdistribution of purchasing power. Logically, this argument is sound, given the huge impoverished industrial working class then often far too poor to consume the goods produced by an industrialized economy. His analysis of capital flight and the rise of mammoth cartels later influenced Lenin in his Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism, which has become a basis for the modern neo-Marxist analysis of imperialism.
Contemporary World-Systems theorist Immanuel Wallerstein perhaps better addresses Hobson's counterarguments without degrading Hobson's underlying inferences. Wallerstein's conception of imperialism as a part of a general, gradual extension of capital investment from the center of the industrial countries to an overseas periphery thus coincides with Hobson's. According to Wallerstein, Mercantilism became the major tool of semi-peripheral, newly industrialized countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and Belgium. Wallerstein hence perceives formal empire as performing a function analogous to that of the mercantilist drives of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in England and France. The expansion of the Industrial Revolution hence contributed to the emergence of an era of aggressive national rivalry, leading to the late nineteenth century scramble for Africa and formal empire.
Capitalism as an ideology
As with many common words, and most particularly ideologically laden words, "capitalism" has many meanings. There can be great confusion amongst these meanings, and readers must be careful of which meaning a writer intends in any particular usage.
"Capitalism" as a phenomenon (the system of the private ownership of capital goods) is certainly different from "capitalism" as an ideology (the philosophical advocacy of that system). Moreover, the precise ideology meant by "capitalism" in the latter sense differs: what a Marxist or Green may describe as capitalist ideology may seem thoroughly alien to what a classical liberal means by calling himself a capitalist, and vice versa.
Opponents of capitalism sometimes deny that these represent subtantially different things, or say they go hand-in-hand. This criticism is often founded upon the Marxist idea that ideology is largely a consequence of underlying economic realities -- or the simplification thereof which holds that people favor ideologies which justify their behavior or privilege.
Although it is arguable whether these meanings the word "capitalism" of the same kind are somehow "equivalent" under someone's subjective notion of equivalence, for the sake of not making a straw man argument when accusing someone else to be a proponent of capitalism, these different concepts must be clearly distinguished.
Capitalism and political ideologies
Some political ideologies favor capitalism:
Some ideologies favor a mixed economy with capitalist and state-run elements:
- Libertarianism, sometimes also called classical liberalism, defends a capitalist free market with minimal state intervention. Minarchist libertarians see the role for government in the economy as solely defending the rights of the participants against violence, theft, fraud, and damages such as pollution. Anarcho-capitalists see no role for government whatsoever.
- Conservatism varies depending on countries in its specific stances. In Western nations, conservatives often defend the status quo of capitalist practices. Most people who call themselves politically conservative however, economically subscribe to Mercantilism. See also political conservatism.
- Mercantilism defends a mostly free market within the nation, but proposes state intervention to protect domestic commerce and industries against foreign competition. See also protectionism, and in opposition, free trade, and Crony capitalism.
Some ideologies oppose capitalism and support a collectively run economy:
- Social democracy and new liberalism argue for extensive state regulation and partial intervention in an otherwise capitalist economy. Social democrats occupy a position between socialists and classical liberals with regards to economic matters. They see a need for government to regulate employment, trade, and labor, and sometimes favor nationalization of certain industries. See also welfare state, political liberalism.
- Distributism desires a economy with private property and with almost all people possessing a means of production. This would take place in for example a country of sustenance farmers. In a distributist economy, laws would be made to restrict larger corperations from taking over. Distributists favor achieving these goals not primarily through government regulation, but firstly through grass roots efforts and collaboration.
- Fascism established a state-controlled economy with powers delegated to capitalist interests subservient to the central government. Socialists sometimes describe modern capitalism as "fascist", meaning an analogy to historical fascism with its cooperation (or cronyism) between industry and government.
- Socialism argues for greater state control of the economy than under social democracy. Areas of capitalism or private ownership may remain in certain sectors (such as small businesses) under socialism, but industry and labor are regulated by the state for the benefit of the populace at large.
- Communism is a variant of socialism which calls for the overthrow of the capitalist system and the establishment of public ownership of the means of production. Communists see socialism as a stage towards the establishment of a stateless and classless economy. Historical Soviet Communism, a system of Party-controlled socialism, is distinct from the Communist ideal.
- Libertarian socialism or left anarchism argues for collective control of the economy without the need for a State.
Arguments for and against capitalism
Since there are so many divergent ideologies backing or fighting capitalism, there is no possible agreed upon argument list for or against it. Each of the above ideologies makes very different claims for or about capitalism. Some ideologies refuse to use the word at all.
There seem to be four separate and distinct questions about capitalism which have clearly survived the 20th century and remain hotly debated today. Certain thinkers claim or claimed to have simple answers to these questions, but political science generally sees them as scales or shades of grey:
Is capitalism moral? Does it actually encourage traits we find useful or appealing in human beings? Yes: Ludwig von Mises, Ayn Rand, Robin Hanson No: John McMurtry, Karl Marx
Is capitalism ethical? Can its rules and contracts and enforcement systems be made wholly objective of the people administering them, to a greater degree than other systems? Yes: Buckminster Fuller, John McMurtry, Friedrich Hayek No: Karl Marx, Peter Kropotkin
Is capitalism efficient? Given whatever moral purposes or ethical standards it might serve, can it be said to allocate energy, material resources, or human creativity better than any of the alternatives? Yes: Ludwig von Mises, Paul Hawken, Joseph Schumpeter No: Peter Kropotkin
Is capitalism sustainable? Can it persist as a means of organizing human affairs, under any conceivable set of reforms as per the above? Yes: Buckminster Fuller, Paul Hawken No: Joseph Schumpeter, Karl Marx
Why does no one agree what capitalism is?
It's hard to answer this objectively. Apparently there has never been a clear agreement about the linguistic, economic, ethical and moral implications, that is, the "political economy" of capitalism itself.
Rather like a governing political party that everyone seeks to control, regardless of ideology, the definition of "capitalism" at any given time tends to reflect the current conflicts between interest groups.
The non-obvious combinations demonstrate the complexity of the debate. For instance, Joseph Schumpeter claimed in 1962 that capitalism was more efficient than any alternative, but doomed due to its complex and abstract rationale which the ordinary citizen would not ultimately defend.
Also, the overlapping claims confuse most debaters. Ayn Rand made an original defense of capitalism as a moral code, but her arguments for its efficiency were not original, and selected to support her moral claims. Karl Marx believed capitalism efficient but unfair at the administration of an immoral purpose, and thus ultimately unsustainable. John McMurtry, a current commentator within the anti-globalization movement, believes it has become increasingly fair at the administration of this immoral purpose. Robin Hanson, another current commentator, asks if fitness and fairness and morality can ever really be separated by other than electoral political means?
In whose interest is capitalism?
Finally, the arguments appeal strongly to different interest groups, and often support their positions as "rights".
Currently recognized property owners, especially corporate shareholders and holders of deeds in land or rights to exploit natural capital, are generally recognized as advocating extremely strong property rights.
However, the definition of capital has broadened in recent years to recognize and include the rationales of other major interest groups: artists or other creators who rely on copyright law, legal patent and trademark holders who improve what they call intellectual capital, workers who are largely trading in their own less creative labor guided by a body of shared and imitative instructional capital - the trades themselves, all have reasons to prefer status quo property law over any given set of proposed reforms.
Even judges, mediators or administrators charged with fair execution of some ethical code and the maintenance of some relationship between human capital and financial capital within a capitalist representative democracy, tend to have strong self-interest reasons to argue for one view or another - typically, that view that assigns them a meaningful role in the capitalist economy.
Karl Marx made the strong claim that this role actually affects their cognition, and leads them inexorably to irreconcilable points of view, i.e. that no agreement about capitalism was possible by "class collaboration", and "class struggle" between these defined it. This view was advocated by many revolutionary movements of the 20th century, but was often abandoned in practice as it seemed to lead to "class war", endless violence between those with irreconcilable points of view.
Today, even those parties traditionally opposed to capitalism, e.g. the Communist Party of China of Mao Zedong, see some role for it in the development of their society. Debate focuses on incentive systems, not on the overall moral structure or ethical clarity of "capitalism".
What is capitalism good for?
One important modern argument is that capitalism simply isn't a system, merely a set of questions, challenges, and assertions regarding human behavior. Like biology, or ecology and its relationship to animal behavior, it is made complex by human language, culture and ideas. Jane Jacobs and George Lakoff argued separately that there was a Guardian Ethic which was fundamentally related to nurturing and protection of life, and a Trader Ethic more related to the unique primate practice of trade. Jacobs thought that the two were made and kept separate in history, and that any collaboration between them was corruption, i.e. any unifying system that claimed to make assertions regarding both, would simply be serving itself.
Other doctrines focus narrowly on the application of capitalist means to natural capital (Paul Hawken) or individual capital (Ayn Rand) - assuming a more general moral and legal framework which discourages these same mechanisms when applied to non-living beings coercively, e.g. "creative accounting" combining individual creativity with the complex instructional base of accounting itself.
Aside from the very narrow arguments advancing specific mechanisms, it is quite difficult or pointless to distinguish critiques of capitalism from critiques of Western European civilization, colonialism or imperialism. These arguments often recur interchangeably within the context of the extremely complex anti-globalization movement, which is often (but not universally) described as "anti-capitalist".
See also
- Capitalism.org
- distributed resource allocation
- Related topics: History of Economic Thought, Emergence of early capitalism.
- Related words: capitalist.
- Related ideologies: classical liberalism (libertarianism, minarchism, anarcho-capitalism), conservatism (political conservatism), mercantilism, protectionism, social democracy (welfare state, liberalism, political liberalism, liberal democracy), state interventionism, state capitalism, socialism, fascism, communism, libertarian socialism.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Capitalism."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Das Kapital (1867) is a political treatise by Karl Marx. The book is an attack on capitalism, which Marx held responsible for the poor working conditions of his contemporaries, and a manifesto for revolution. The central injustice of capitalism, according to Marx, was that employers made their profits by paying labourers less than the true value of their labour.
Marx died before he could finish the second and third volumes, but a version of the entire work was published posthumously, edited by his friend Friedrich Engels. The work included a three-volume appendix, The Theory of Surplus Value. The first English edition of Das Kapital, Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, also edited by Engels, was published in 1887.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Das Kapital."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Financial capital, or economic capital, is any liquid medium or mechanism that represents wealth, i.e. other styles of capital. A contract regarding any combination of capital asset is called a financial instrument, and may serve as aLiquidity requirements of these vary significantly - leading to a diversity of contracts and financial markets to trade them on. When all four functions are served by one instrument, this is called money, which does not need to be traded on financial markets since the risk of loss of value of money is uniform across the whole society. Where no one form of money is agreed to have reliable value, and barter is undesirable, less liquid or more diverse instruments have served the four functions. This article focuses mostly on financial instruments which are not uniformly affected by native currency inflation and which are not guaranteed by a state.
- medium of exchange,
- standard of deferred payment,
- unit of account, or
- store of value
Like money, financial instruments may be "backed" by state military fiat, credit (i.e. social capital held by banks and their depositors), or commodity resources. Governments generally closely control the supply of it and usually require some "reserve" be held by institutions granting credit. Trading between various national currency instruments is conducted on a money market. Such trading reveals differences in probability of debt collection or store of value function of that currency, as assigned by traders.
When in forms other than money, financial capital may be traded on bond markets or reinsurance markets with varying degrees of trust in the social capital (not just credits) of bond-issuers, insurers, and others who issue and trade in financial instruments. When payment is deferred on any such instrument, typically an interest rate is higher than the standard interest rates paid by banks, or charged by the central bank on its money. Often such instruments are called fixed-income instruments if they have reliable payment schedules associated with the uniform rate of interest. A variable-rate instrument, such as many consumer mortgages, will reflect the standard rate for deferred payment set by the central bank prime rate, increasing it by some fixed percentage. Other instruments, such as citizen entitlements, e.g. "U.S. Social Security", or other pensions, may be indexed to the rate of inflation, to provide a reliable value stream.
Trading in stock markets or commodity markets is actually trade in underlying assets which are not wholly financial in themselves, although they often move up and down in value in direct response to the trading in more purely financial derivatives. Typically commodity markets depend on politics that affect international trade, e.g. boycotts and embargoes, or factors that influence natural capital, e.g. weather that affects food crops. Meanwhile, stock markets are more influenced by trust in corporate leaders, i.e. individual capital, by consumers, i.e. social capital or "brand capital" (in some analyses), and internal organizational efficiency, i.e. instructional capital and infrastructural capital. Some enterprises issue instruments to specifically track one limited division or brand. "Financial futures", "Short-selling" and "financial options" apply to these markets, and are typically pure financial bets on outcomes, rather than being a direct representation of any underlying asset.
The relationship between financial capital, money, and all other styles of capital, especially human capital or labor, is assumed in central bank policy and regulations regarding instruments as above.
Such relationships and policies are characterized by a political economy - feudalist, socialist, capitalist, green, anarchist or otherwise. In effect, the means of money supply and other regulations on financial capital represent the economic sense of the value system of the society itself, as they determine the allocation of labor in that society.
So, for instance, rules for increasing or reducing the money supply based on perceived inflation, or on measuring well-being, reflect some such values, reflect the importance of using (all forms of) financial capital as a stable store of value. If this is very important, inflation control is key - any amount of money inflation reduces the value of financial capital with respect to all other types.
If, however, the medium of exchange function is more critical, new money may be more freely issued regardless of impact on either inflation or well-being.
Unit of account functions may come into question if valuations of complex financial instruments vary drastically based on timing. The "book value", "mark-to-market" and "mark-to-future" conventions are three different approaches to reconciling financial capital value units of account.
Socialism, capitalism, feudalism, anarchism, other civic theories take markedly different views of the role of financial capital in social life, and propose various political restrictions to deal with that.
See also
- banking
- money supply
- list of finance topics
- list of accounting topics
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Financial capital."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Infrastructural capital (manufactured capital, manmade capital, or fixed capital) refers to any physical means of production or means of protection beyond that which can be gathered or found directly in nature, i.e. beyond natural capital and that which is not considered as "fluid capital". It may include tools, clothing, shelter, irrigation systems, dams, roads, boats, ports, factories or any physical improvements made to nature. This term can overlap with the notion of internal improvements and public works.In macro-economics the term "infrastructure" usually refers to the added-value of a nation-state relative to the raw natural capital of its ecoregions, e.g. dams, roads, ports, canals, sewers, border posts, etc. - although it can also be used to describe firm-specific infrastructure such as factories, private roads, capital equipment, and other such assets.
The more generic term physical capital is sometimes used to refer to any combination of either infrastructural capital and natural capital -- recognizing that often an infrastructural improvement, e.g. a dam or road, becomes impossible to differentiate from the natural ecology within which it is embedded. Although it is confusing to consider personal property carried on the individual human body part of an "infrastructure", it is also contrary to refer to joint products of nature and man as being "manufactured" or "built" rather than as being "grown" or "developed", e.g. vines or other plants which grow on a manmade trellis. As both infrastructural and natural capital serve as means of production and means of protection from the elements, macro-economists rarely differentiate the two in their analysis.
However, from a public policy point of view, infrastructural capital is prone to more obvious and significant breakdowns and is usually a cost center:
"It will always be easy to tell the infrastructure from nature. The infrastructure will be the part that doesn't work." - Sean McShane, 1999.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Infrastructural capital."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
List of capitals of subnational entities covers currently the following national entities:See also: Lists of national capitals, national capitals by country, subnational entities, cities.
- #A-C: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, People's Republic of China, Czech Republic,
- #D-F: Denmark, Finland, France,
- #G-L: Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Ireland, Japan,
- #M-R: Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines (start), Poland, Russia (incomplete),
- #S-Z: Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine (partial), United Kingdom, United States.
National entity Capital Subnational entity
Australia Capital State or territory Adelaide South Australia Brisbane Queensland Canberra Australian Capital Territory Darwin Northern Territory Hobart Tasmania Melbourne Victoria Perth Western Australia Sydney New South Wales
Austria Capital States Bregenz Vorarlberg Eisenstadt Burgenland Graz Styria Innsbruck Tyrol Klagenfurt Carinthia Linz Upper Austria Salzburg Salzburg St. Pölten Lower Austria n/a (Vienna) Vienna
Belgium Capital Region Brussels Brussels (region) Brussels Flanders Namur Wallonia Capital Province Antwerp Antwerp Arlon Luxembourg Bruges West Flanders Ghent East Flanders Hasselt Limburg Leuven Flemish Brabant Liège Liège Mons Hainaut Namur Namur Wavre Walloon Brabant
Belize Capital District Belize City Belize District Corozal Town Corozal District Dangriga Stann Creek District Orange Walk Town Orange Walk District Punta Gorda Toledo District San Ignacio Cayo Cayo District
Bolivia Capital Department Trinidad Beni Cochabamba Cochabamba Sucre Chuquisaca Oruro Oruro Cobija Pando La Paz La Paz Potosi Potosi Santa Cruz Santa Cruz Tarija Tarija
Brazil Capital State or federal district Aracaju Sergipe Belem Pará Belo Horizonte Minas Gerais Boa Vista Roraima n/a (Brasília) Federal District Campo Grande Mato Grosso do Sul Cuiaba Mato Grosso Curitiba Paraná Florianopolis Santa Catarina Fortaleza Ceará Goiania Goiás Joao Pessoa Paraíba Macapa Amapá Maceio Alagoas Manaus Amazonas Natal Rio Grande do Norte Palmas Tocantins Porto Alegre Rio Grande do Sul Porto Velho Rondônia Recife Pernambuco Rio Branco Acre Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro (state) Salvador Bahia São Luís Maranhão São Paulo São Paulo (state) Teresina Piauí Vitoria Espirito Santo
Canada Capital Province or territory Charlottetown Prince Edward Island Edmonton Alberta Fredericton New Brunswick Halifax Nova Scotia Iqaluit Nunavut Quebec Quebec Regina Saskatchewan St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador Toronto Ontario Victoria British Columbia Whitehorse Yukon Winnipeg Manitoba Yellowknife Northwest Territories
China
People's
RepublicCapital Province, autonomous
region, municipality, SARBeijing City Beijing Municipality Changchun Jilin Changsha Hunan Chengdu Sichuan Chongqing Chongqing Municipality Fuzhou Fujian Guangzhou Guangdong Guiyang Guizhou Haikou Hainan Hangzhou Zhejiang Harbin Heilongjiang Hefei Anhui Hohhot Inner Mongolia n/a (Hong Kong) Hong Kong Jinan Shandong Kunming Yunnan Lanzhou Gansu Lhasa Tibet n/a (Macau) Macau Nanchang Jiangxi Nanjing Jiangsu Nanning Guangxi Shanghai Shanghai Municipality Shenyang Liaoning Shijiazhuang Hebei Taiyuan Shanxi Tianjin Tianjin Municipality Urumqi Xinjiang Wuhan Hubei Xi'an Shaanxi Xining Qinghai Yinchuang Nangxia Zhengzhou Henan
Czech
RepublicCapital Region, capital city Brno South Moravian Region Ceske Budejovice South Bohemian Region Hradec Kralove Hradec Kralove Region Jihlava Vysocina Region
Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary Region Liberec Liberec Region Olomouc Olomouc Region Ostrava Moravian-Silesian Region Pardubice Pardubice Region Plzen Plzen Region Prague Central Bohemian Region n/a (Prague) Prague (capital city) Usti nad Labem Usti nad Labem Region Zlin Zlin Region
National entity Capital Subnational entity
Denmark Capital County Aarhus Aarhus Alborg North Jutland n/a (Copenhagen) Copenhagen Copenhagen (county) n/a (Frederiksberg) Frederiksberg Hillerød Frederiksborg Nykøbing Storstrøm Odense Funen Ribe Ribe Ringkøbing Ringkøbing Rønne Bornholm Roskilde Roskilde Slagelse West Zealand Sønderborg South Jutland Vejle Vejle Viborg Viborg
Finland Capital Provinces Mariehamn Åland Islands Mikkeli Eastern Finland Oulu Oulu Rovaniemi Lapland Hämeenlinna Southern Finland Turku Western Finland
France Capital Region Ajaccio Corsica Amiens Picardie Besançon Franche-Comté Bordeaux Aquitaine Caen Lower Normandy Châlons-en-Champagne Champagne-Ardenne Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne Dijon Burgundy Lille Nord-Pas-de-Calais Limoges Limousin Lyon Rhône-Alpes Marseille Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur Metz Lorraine Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon Nantes Pays-de-la-Loire Orléans Centre Paris Ile-de-France Poitiers Poitou-Charentes Rennes Brittany Rouen Upper Normandy Strasbourg Alsace Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées Capital Département Agen Lot-et-Garonne Ajaccio Corse-du-Sud Albi Tarn Alençon Orne Amiens Somme Angers Maine-et-Loire Angoulême Charente Annecy Haute-Savoie Arras Pas-de-Calais Auch Gers Aurillac Cantal Auxerre Yonne Avignon Vaucluse Bar-le-Duc Meuse Bastia Haute-Corse Beauvais Oise Belfort Territoire-de-Belfort Besançon Doubs Blois Loir-et-Cher Bobigny Seine-Saint-Denis Bordeaux Gironde Bourg-en-Bresse Ain Bourges Cher Caen Calvados Cahors Lot Carcassonne Aude Châlons-en-Champagne Marne Chambéry Savoie Charleville-Mézières Ardennes Chartres Eure-et-Loir Châteauroux Indre Chaumont Haute-Marne Clermont-Ferrand Puy-de-Dôme Colmar Haut-Rhin Créteil Val-de-Marne Digne Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Dijon Côte-d'Or Epinal Vosges Evreux Eure Évry Essonne Foix Ariège Gap Hautes-Alpes Grenoble Isère Guéret Creuse La Rochelle Charente-Maritime La Roche-sur-Yon Vendée Laon Aisne Laval Mayenne Le Mans Sarthe Le Puy Haute-Loire Lille Nord Limoges Haute-Vienne Lons-le-Saunier Jura Lyon Rhône Mâcon Saône-et-Loire Marseille Bouches-du-Rhône Melun Seine-et-Marne Mende Lozère Metz Moselle Montauban Tarn-et-Garonne Mont-de-Marsan Landes Montpellier Hérault Moulins Allier Nancy Meurthe-et-Moselle Nanterre Hauts-de-Seine Nantes Loire-Atlantique Nevers Nièvre Nice Alpes-Maritimes Nîmes Gard Niort Deux-Sèvres Orléans Loiret Paris Paris Pau Pyrénées-Atlantiques Périgueux Dordogne Perpignan Pyrénées-Orientales Poitiers Vienne Pontoise Val-d'Oise Privas Ardèche Quimper Finistère Rennes Ille-et-Vilaine Rodez Aveyron Rouen Seine-Maritime Saint-Brieuc Côtes-d'Armor Saint-Étienne Loire Saint-Lô Manche Strasbourg Bas-Rhin Tarbes Hautes-Pyrénées Toulon Var Toulouse Haute-Garonne Tours Indre-et-Loire Troyes Aube Tulle Corrèze Valence Drôme Vannes Morbihan Versailles Yvelines Vesoul Haute-Saône Capital Overseas regions/départments Basse-Terre Guadeloupe Cayenne Guyane Fort-de-France Martinique Saint-Denis La Réunion Capital Overseas territories and others Mamoutzou Mayotte Mata-Utu Wallis and Futuna Noumea New Caledonia Papeete French Polynesia Saint Pierre Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
National entity Capital Subnational entity
Germany Capital States n/a (Berlin) Berlin (city-state) Bremen Bremen (city-state) Dresden Saxony Düsseldorf North Rhine-Westphalia Erfurt Thuringia n/a (Hamburg) Hamburg (city-state) Hanover Lower Saxony Kiel Schleswig-Holstein Magdeburg Saxony-Anhalt Mainz Rhineland-Palatinate Munich Bavaria Potsdam Brandenburg Saarbrücken Saarland Schwerin Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Stuttgart Baden-Württemberg Wiesbaden Hesse Capital District see: List of German districts
India Capital State or territory Agartala Tripura Aizawl Mizoram Bangalore Karnataka Bhopal Madhya Pradesh Bhubaneshwar Orissa Chandigarh Chandigarh Chandigarh Haryana Chandigarh Punjab Chennai Tamil Nadu Daman Daman and Diu Dehradun Uttaranchal Dispur Assam Gandhinagar Gujarat Gangtok Sikkim Hyderabad Andhra Pradesh Imphal Manipur Itanagar Arunachal Pradesh Jaipur Rajasthan Jammu Jammu and Kashmir (in winter) Kavaratti Lakshadweep Kohima Nagaland Kolkata West Bengal Lucknow Uttar Pradesh Mumbai Maharashtra New Delhi Delhi Panaji Goa Patna Bihar Pondicherry Pondicherry Port Blair Andaman and Nicobar Islands Raipur Chhattisgarh Ranchi Jharkhand Shillong Meghalaya Shimla Himachal Pradesh Silvassa Dadra and Nagar Haveli Srinagar Jammu and Kashmir (in summer) Thiruvananthapuram Kerala
Indonesia Capital Province, special region,
capital districtAmbon Maluku Banda Aceh Aceh (special region) Bandung Jawa Barat Banjarmasin Kalimantan Tengah Bengkulu Bengkulu Denpasar Bali Gorontalo Gorontalo Jakarta Jakarta (capital district) Jambi Jambi Jayapura Papua (special region) Kendari Sulawesi Tenggara Kupang Nusa Tenggara Timur Makassar Sulawesi Setalan Manado Sulawesi Utara Matararn Nusa Tenggara Barat Medan Sumatera Utara Padang Sumatera Barat Palangkaraya Kalimantan Selatan Palembang Sumatera Setalan Palu Sulawesi Tengah Pangkalpinang Kepulauan Belitung Bangka Pekanbaru Riau Pontianak Kalimantan Barat Samarinda Kalimantan Timur Semarang Jawa Tengah Serang Banten Sofifi Maluku Utara Surabaya Jawa Timur Tanjungkarang-Telukbetung Lampung Yogyakarta Yogyakarta (special region)
Italy Capital Region Ancona Marche Aosta Aosta Valley L'Aquila Abruzzo Bari Apulia Bologna Emilia-Romagna Cagliari Sardinia Campobasso Molise Catanzaro Calabria Florence Tuscany Genoa Liguria Milan Lombardy Naples Campania Palermo Sicily Perugia Umbria Potenza Basilicata Rome Latium Trento Trentino-South Tyrol Trieste Friuli-Venezia Giulia Turin Piedmont Venice Veneto
Ireland Capital County Ballina Mayo Carlow Carlow Carrick-on-Shannon Leitrim Cavan Town Cavan Clonmel Tipperary South Riding Cork Cork n/a (Dublin) Dublin City Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Dundalk Louth Ennis Clare Fingal Fingal Galway Galway Kilkenny Kilkenny Lifford Donegal Limerick Limerick Longford Town Longford Monaghan Monaghan Mullingar Westmeath Naas Kildare Navan Meath Nenagh Tipperary North Riding Portlaoise Laois Roscommon Roscommon Sligo Sligo Tallaght South Dublin (Tallaght) Tralee Kerry Tullamore Offaly Waterford City Waterford Wexford Wexford Wicklow Wicklow
Japan Capital Prefecture Akita Akita Aomori Aomori Chiba Chiba Fukui Fukui Fukuoka Fukuoka Fukushima Fukushima Gifu Gifu Hiroshima Hiroshima Kagoshima Kagoshima Kanazawa Ishikawa Kobe Hyogo Kochi Kochi Kofu Yamanashi Kumamoto Kumamoto Kyoto Kyoto Maebashi Gunma Matsue Shimane Matsuyama Ehime Mito Ibaraki Miyazaki Miyazaki Morioka Iwate Nagano Nagano Nagasaki Nagasaki Nagoya Aichi Naha Okinawa Nara Nara Niigata Niigata Oita Oita Okayama Okayama Osaka Osaka Otsu Shiga Saga Saga Saitama Saitama Sapporo Hokkaido Sendai Miyagi Shizuoka Shizuoka Takamatsu Kagawa Tokushima Tokushima Shinjuku Tokyo Tottori Tottori Toyama Toyama Tsu Mie Utsunomiya Tochigi Wakayama Wakayama Yamagata Yamagata Yamaguchi Yamaguchi Yokohama Kanagawa
M-R
National entity Capital Subnational entity
Mexico Capital State, federal district Aguascalientes Aguascalientes Campeche Campeche Chetumal Quintana Roo Chihuahua Chihuahua Chilpancingo Guerrero Ciudad Victoria Tamaulipas Colima Colima Cuernavaca Morelos Culiacan Sinaloa Durango City Durango Guadalajara Jalisco Guanajuato Guanajuato Hermosillo Sonora Mérida Yucatán Mexicali Baja California Norte n/a (Mexico City) Federal District Monterrey Nuevo Leon Morelia Michoacán Oaxaca Oaxaca Pachuca Hidalgo La Paz Baja California Sur Puebla Puebla Querétaro Querétaro Saltillo Coahuila San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí Tepic Nayarit Tlaxcala Tlaxcala Toluca Estado de Mexico Tuxtla Gutiérrez Chiapas Veracruz Veracruz Villahermosa Tabasco Zacatecas Zacatecas
Netherlands Capital Province Arnhem Gelderland Assen Drenthe Groningen Groningen Haarlem North Holland The Hague South Holland 's-Hertogenbosch North Brabant Leeuwarden Friesland Lelystad Flevoland Maastricht Limburg Middelburg Zeeland Utrecht Utrecht Zwolle Overijssel
Norway Capital County Arendal Aust-Agder Bergen Hordaland Bodø Nordland Drammen Buskerud Hamar Hedmark Kristiansand Vest-Agder Leikanger Sogn og Fjordane Lillehammer Oppland Molde Møre og Romsdal Oslo Akershus n/a (Oslo) Oslo Sarpsborg Østfold Skien Telemark Stavanger Rogaland Steinkjer Nord-Trøndelag Tønsberg Vestfold Tromsø Troms Trondheim Sør-Trøndelag Vadsø Finnmark
Pakistan Capital Province, territory, area Islamabad Islamabad Capital Territory Karachi Sindh (province) Lahore Pujab (province) Muzaffarabad Azad Kashmir (territory) Peshawar North-West Frontier (province) Quetta Balochistan (province) n/a Northern Areas (territory) n/a Tribal Areas (territory)
Philippines Capital Province see: Provinces of the Philippines
Poland Capital Voivodship (Województwo) Bialystok Podlasie Voivodship Bydgoszcz Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodship Gdansk Pomeranian Voivodship Katowice Silesian Voivodship Kielce Swietokrzyskie Voivodship Krakow Lesser Poland Voivodship Lodz Lodz Voivodship Lublin Lublin Voivodship Olsztyn Warmian-Masurian Voivodship Opole Opole Voivodship Poznan Greater Poland Voivodship Rzeszow Subcarpathian Voivodship Szczecin West Pomeranian Voivodship Warsaw Masovian Voivodship Wroclaw Lower Silesian Voivodship Zielona Gora Lubusz Voivodship
Russia Capital Autonomous republic,
oblast, district, region, cityGroznyy Chechnya(disputed) Blagoveshchensk Amur Oblast Chita Chita Oblast Gorno-Altaisk Altai Republic Irkutsk Irkutsk Oblast Kaliningrad Kaliningrad Oblast Kazan Tatarstan Kemerovo Kemerovo Oblast Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk Krai Kyzyl Tuva Nazran Ingushetia Novosibirsk Novosibirsk Oblast Omsk Omsk Oblast Tomsk Tomsk Oblast Ulan Ude Buryat Republic Yakutsk Sakha Republic
National entity Capital Subnational entity
Somalia Capital Region Baidoa Bay Baki Awdal Beledweyne Hiraan Bender Cassim Bari Bu'aale Jubbada Dhexe Burao Togdheer Chisimayu Jubbada Hoose Dusa Marreb Galguduud Erigavo Sanaag Galcaio Mudug Garbahaarrey Gedo Garoowe Nugaal Giohar Shabeellaha Dhexe Hargeysa Woqooyi Galbeed Laascaanood Sool Merca Shabeellaha Hoose Mogadishu Banaadir Oddur Bakool
South Africa Capital Province Cape Town Western Cape Kimberly Northern Cape Bisho Eastern Cape Mmabatho North West Johannesburg Gauteng Polokwane Limpopo Bloemfontein Orange Free State Nelspruit Mpumalanga Ulundi KwaZulu-Natal
Spain Capital Autonomous community Barcelona Catalonia Vitoria Basque Country Logroño La Rioja Madrid Madrid Mérida Extremadura Murcia Murcia Oviedo Asturias Palma de Mallorca Balearic Islands Pamplona Navarre Santa Cruz de Tenerife Canary Islands Santander Cantabria Santiago de Compostela Galicia Seville Andalusia Toledo Castile-La Mancha Valencia Valencian Community Valladolid Castile-Leon Zaragoza Aragon
Sweden Residence city County Falun Dalarna Gävle Gävleborg Gothenburg Västra Götaland Halmstad Halland Härnösand Västernorrland Jönköping Jönköping Kalmar Kalmar Karlskrona Blekinge Karlstad Värmland Linköping Östergötland Luleå Norrbotten Malmö Scania Nyköping Södermanland Örebro Örebro Östersund Jämtland Stockholm Stockholm Umeå Västerbotten Uppsala Uppsala Västerås Västmanland Visby Gotland Växjö Kronoberg
Switzerland Capital Canton Aarau Aargau Altdorf Uri Appenzell Appenzell Inner Rhodes Basel Basel-City Bellinzona Ticino Berne Berne Chur Grisons Delémont Jura Frauenfeld Thurgau Fribourg Fribourg Geneva Geneva Glarus Glarus Herisau Appenzell Outer Rhodes Lausanne Vaud Liestal Basel-Country Lucerne Lucerne Neuchâtel Neuchâtel Sarnen Obwalden Schaffhausen Schaffhausen Schwyz Schwyz Sion Valais Solothurn Solothurn St. Gallen St. Gallen Stans Nidwalden Zug Zug Zurich Zurich
Thailand Capital Province Amnat Charoen Amnat Charoen Ang Thong Ang Thong Ayutthaya Ayutthaya n/a (Bangkok) Bangkok Buriram Buriram Chachoengsao Chachoengsao Chai Nat Chai Nat Chaiyaphum Chaiyaphum Chanthaburi Chanthaburi Chiang Mai Chiang Mai Chiang Rai Chiang Rai Chonburi Chonburi Chumphon Chumphon Kalasin Kalasin Kamphaeng Phet Kamphaeng Phet Kanchanaburi Kanchanaburi Khon Kaen Khon Kaen Krabi Krabi Lampang Lampang Lamphun Lamphun Loei Loei Lopburi Lopburi Mae Hong Son Mae Hong Son Maha Sarakham Maha Sarakham Mukdahan Mukdahan Nakhon Nayok Nakhon Nayok Nakhon Pathom Nakhon Pathom Nakhon Phanom Nakhon Phanom Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Sawan Nakhon Sawan Nakhon Si Thammarat Nakhon Si Thammarat Nan Nan Narathiwat Narathiwat Nong Khai Nong Khai Nongbua Lamphu Nongbua Lamphu Nonthaburi Nonthaburi Pathum Thani Pathum Thani Pattani Pattani Phang Nga Phang Nga Phattalung Phattalung Phayao Phayao Phetchabun Phetchabun Phetchaburi Phetchaburi Phichit Phichit Phitsanulok Phitsanulok Phrae Phrae Phuket city Phuket Prachinburi Prachinburi Prachuap Khiri Khan Prachuap Khiri Khan Ranong Ranong Ratchaburi Ratchaburi Rayong Rayong Roi Et Roi Et Sa Kaeo Sa Kaeo Sakhon Nakhon Sakhon Nakhon Samut Prakan Samut Prakan Samut Sakhon Samut Sakhon Samut Songkhram Samut Songkhram Saraburi Saraburi Satun Satun Sisaket Sisaket Sing Buri Sing Buri Songkhla Songkhla New Sukhothai Sukhothai Suphanburi Suphanburi Surat Thani Surat Thani Surin Surin Tak Tak Trang Trang
Trat Trat Ubon Ratchathani Ubon Ratchathani Udon Thani Udon Thani Uthai Thani Uthai Thani Uttaradit Uttaradit Yala Yala Yasothon Yasothon
Ukraine Capital Autonomous republic,
cities, voblastsCrimea Crimea Autonomous Republic Kiev Kiev City L'viv L'vivs'ka Oblast Luts'k Volins'ka Oblast Poltava Poltavs'ka Oblast Sevastopol Sevastopol City
United
KingdomCapital Country Belfast Northern Ireland Cardiff Wales Edinburgh Scotland London England Capital Dependent territory Adamstown Pitcairn Islands Cockburn Town Turks and Caicos Islands George Town Cayman Islands Gibraltar Gibraltar Hamilton Bermuda Jamestown Saint Helena Montserrat Montserrat Port Stanley Falkland Islands Road Town British Virgin Islands The Valley Anguilla Capital Crown dependencies Douglas Isle of Man St. Helier Jersey St. Peter Port Guernsey
United States Capital State, federal district Albany New York Annapolis Maryland Atlanta Georgia Augusta Maine Austin Texas Baton Rouge Louisiana Bismarck North Dakota Boise Idaho Boston Massachusetts Carson City Nevada Charleston West Virginia Cheyenne Wyoming Columbia South Carolina Columbus Ohio Concord New Hampshire Denver Colorado Des Moines Iowa Dover Delaware Frankfort Kentucky Harrisburg Pennsylvania Hartford Connecticut Helena Montana Honolulu Hawaii Indianapolis Indiana Jackson Mississippi Jefferson City Missouri Juneau Alaska Lansing Michigan Lincoln Nebraska Little Rock Arkansas Madison Wisconsin Montgomery Alabama Montpelier Vermont Nashville Tennessee Oklahoma City Oklahoma Olympia Washington Phoenix Arizona Pierre South Dakota Providence Rhode Island Raleigh North Carolina Richmond Virginia Sacramento California Saint Paul Minnesota Salem Oregon Salt Lake City Utah Santa Fe New Mexico Springfield Illinois Tallahassee Florida Topeka Kansas Trenton New Jersey n/a (Washington) District of Columbia Capital Territory Charlotte Amalie U.S. Virgin Islands Hagåtña Guam Pago Pago American Samoa Saipan Northern Mariana Islands San Juan Puerto Rico Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of capitals of subnational entities."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Majuscules or capital letters (in the Roman alphabet: A, B, C, ...) are one type of case in a writing system. Compare minuscule (a, b, c, ...). Majuscules and minuscules are sometimes also known as uppercase (or upper case) and lowercase letters, respectively (for example, in computer programming).Some languages make no distinction between majuscules and minuscules. Latin was originally written using only one set of letters, which later became majuscules when minuscules were invented.
Even in alphabets with a case distinction, majuscules are used:
- for capitalization,
- for acronyms,
- for better legibility, e.g. on signs and in labelling, and
- in some languages, as a means of emphasis.
Capitalization is the writing of a word with its first letter in majuscule and the remaining letters in minuscule. Capitalization rules vary by language and are often quite complex; however in most modern languages that have capitalization, the first word of every sentence is capitalized, as are all proper nouns.
- Note: the use of majuscules for emphasis in situations where bold or italic type would suffice is generally considered to be a bad habit, albeit one that is quite common in the United States, particularly in email, Usenet, or in chat rooms.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Majuscule."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Aerial photo of Washington, DCThe District of Columbia, DC, Washington and Washington, DC are all interchangeable terms for the capital city and administrative district of the United States of America.
It is between Maryland to the northeast and Virginia to the southwest and interrupts their common border. The city contains the historic Federal City and is that part that was originally designed as the National Capitol. It is part of the United States of America but not part of any state. The population, as of the 2000 census, is 572,059. It is in area (but not in population) smaller than the smallest state. It is part of a large metropolitan area together with Baltimore, the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan Area.
For non-federal and historical geographical information on the District of Columbia, go to the District of Columbia (geography) page.
Washington is the home of numerous national landmarks, sports teams and is a popular tourist destination. The Washington area is also known for its public transportation system known as the Washington Metro or Metro.
Washington serves as the headquarters for the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organization of American States.
Residents of the District vote for the President but do not have voting representation in Congress. Citizens of Washington are represented in the House of Representatives by a non-voting Delegate, who sits on committees and participates in debate, but cannot vote. DC does not have representation in the Senate. Citizens of Washington, DC are thus unique in the world, as citizens of the capital city of every other country have the same representation rights as their fellow citizens.
Flag of Washington, DCThere have been efforts to attain voting representation for many years. These efforts are endorsed by the current Mayor, Anthony Williams and by the current Delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton. As part of the effort, the words "Taxation Without Representation" were added to DC license plates in 2000, and the words "No Taxation Without Representation" were added to the DC flag in 2003. Advocates of statehood who supported these changes have said that they are intended as a protest and to raise awareness in the rest of the country. These measures in particular were chosen because the DC flag is one of the few things under direct local control without requiring approval from Congress.
On a local level, the city is run by an elected Mayor and City Council. The school board has both elected and appointed members. Congress has the right to review and overrule laws created locally, if both houses of Congress reject them.
DC residents pay all federal taxes, such as income tax, as well as local taxes. The Mayor and Council adopt a budget of local money with Congress reserving the right to make any changes.
History
The signing of the Residence Bill on July 16, 1790 established a site along the Potomac River as the District of Columbia (seat of government) of the United States. Land for the district was given to the federal government by the states of Virginia and Maryland and the city was named after George Washington. On February 27, 1801 the district was placed under the jurisdiction of the United States Congress. The town of Georgetown already existed at the time.By an act of Congress, the area south of the Potomac was returned to Virginia on July 9, 1846 and now is incorporated in Arlington County and a part of the City of Alexandria.
US President Herbert Hoover ordered the United States Army on July 28, 1932 to forcibly evict the "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans that gathered in Washington, DC to secure promised veteran's benefits early. US troops dispersed the last of the "Bonus Army" the next day.
The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on March 29, 1961 which allows residents of Washington, DC to vote for President (popular election) and have their votes count in the electoral college the same as the least populous state, which currently is three(3)
The first 4.6 miles of the Washington, DC subway system opened on March 27, 1976.
Mayor Walter Washington became the first elected Mayor of the District in 1974.
Mayor Marion Barry was arrested for drug use in an FBI sting on January 18, 1990. He was acquitted of felony charges, but convicted of the misdemeanor of marijuana use.
On January 2, 1991 Sharon Pratt Kelly (elected as Sharon Pratt Dixon but married later that year) was sworn in as mayor of Washington, DC becoming the first black woman to lead a city of that size and importance in the USA.
The current Mayor, Anthony Williams, a Yale educated lawyer, became Mayor in 1998. He was reelected in 2002. See List of mayors of Washington, D.C
Geography
Washington is located at 38°54'49" North, 77°0'48" West (38.913611, -77.013222)1.According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 177.0 km² (68.3 mi²). 159.0 km² (61.4 mi²) of it is land and 18.0 km² (6.9 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 10.16% water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 572,059 people, 248,338 households, and 114,235 families residing in the city. The population density is 3,597.3/km² (9,316.4/mi²). There are 274,845 housing units at an average density of 1,728.3/km² (4,476.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 30.78% White, 60.01% African American, 0.30% Native American, 2.66% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 3.84% from other races, and 2.35% from two or more races. 7.86% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.There are 248,338 households out of which 19.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 22.8% are married couples living together, 18.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 54.0% are non-families. 43.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.16 and the average family size is 3.07.
In the city the population is spread out with 20.1% under the age of 18, 12.7% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $40,127, and the median income for a family is $46,283. Males have a median income of $40,513 versus $36,361 for females. The per capita income for the city is $28,659. 20.2% of the population and 16.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 31.1% are under the age of 18 and 16.4% are 65 or older.
Jefferson Memorial
Colleges and Universities
- American University
- The Catholic University of America
- Corcoran College of Art and Design
- Gallaudet University
- George Washington University
- George Washington University Mount Vernon Campus
- Georgetown University
- Howard University
- National Defense University
- Southeastern University
- Strayer College
- Trinity College
- University of the District of Columbia
Professional Sports Teams
The Washington Redskins (National Football League) do not play in the District of Columbia. They are based in Landover, Maryland. The closest major league baseball team to Washington D.C. is the Baltimore Orioles of Baltimore, Maryland.
- D. C. United, Major League Soccer
- Washington Capitals, National Hockey League
- Washington Freedom, Women's United Soccer Association
- Washington Mystics, Women's National Basketball Association
- Washington Wizards, National Basketball Association
Sites of Interest
Washington is the home of numerous national landmarks and is a popular tourist destination. Landmarks include:
- Blair House
- Jefferson Memorial
- John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
- Korean War Veterans Memorial
- Library of Congress
- Lincoln Memorial
- National Mall
- National Gallery of Art
- Smithsonian Institution
- United States Capitol
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- Washington Monument
- White House (President's Park)
Airports
- Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) between Dulles, Virginia, Herndon, Virginia, and Chantilly, Virginia
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia
- Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) near Baltimore, Maryland
External Links
Sources
- http://flagspot.net, http://flagspot.net/flags/us-dc.html - Source for flag image - Flag image made by Mark Sensen
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Washington, DC."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
CAPITAL | English | Customer Access Photonics:an Integrated Technology for Active,Low-Cost Devices | Computing |
| CAB | English | Capital appreciation bond | Finance |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: CapitalSynonyms: great (adj), majuscule (adj), cap (n), chapiter (n), upper case (n), upper-case letter (n), working capital (n). (additional references) |
| Synonym by domain: fondest (general, law). |
| Antonym: small letter (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Abode | Hamlet, village, thorp, dorp, ham, kraal; borough, burgh, town, city, capital, metropolis; suburb; province, country; county town, county seat; courthouse; ghetto. |
Importance | Paramount, essential, vital, all-absorbing, radical, cardinal, chief, main, prime, primary, principal, leading, capital, foremost, overruling; of vital; importance. |
Inexpedience | Superexcellent; of the first water; first-rate, first-class; high-wrought, exquisite, very best, crack, prime, tiptop, capital, cardinal; standard; (perfect); inimitable. |
Means | Noun: means, resources, wherewithal, ways and means; capital; (money); revenue; stock in trade; provision; a shot in the locker; appliances; (machinery); means and appliances; conveniences; cards to play; expedients; (measures); two strings to one's bow; sheet anchor; (safety); aid; medium. |
Money | Noun: money, legal tender; money matters, money market; finance; accounts; funds, treasure; capital, stock; assets;(property); wealth; supplies, ways and means, wherewithal, sinews of war, almighty dollar, needful, cash; mammon. |
Summit | Architrave, frieze, cornice, coping stone, zoophorus, capital, epistyle, sconce, pediment, entablature; tympanum; ceiling; (covering). |
Adjective: highest; (high; ); top; top most, upper most; tiptop; culminating; Verb: meridian, meridional; capital, head, polar, supreme, supernal, topgallant. | |
Wealth | Income; capital, money; round sum; (treasure); mint of money, mine of wealth, El Dorado, bonanza, Pacatolus, Golconda, Potosi. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Capital |
| Non-English Usage: "Capital" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. French (asset, capital, crucial, momentous, principal, signal), Portuguese (bank stock, capital, capital city, capital letter, chief, main, major, majuscule, metropolis, principal, principal city, property, wad), Romanian (assets, capital, chief, corpus, essential, fund), Spanish (capital, capital city, chief, entire, metropolis, principal, stock, stock in trade). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Trouble with a capital B. (Beast Wars: Transformers; writing credit: Bob Forward; Lawrence G. DiTillio) With a capital C and that rhymes with Z and that stands for Zom bie. (Hysterical; writing credit: Chris Bearde; Bill Hudson) Blaine is the stool capital of the world (Waiting for Guffman; writing credit: Christopher Guest; Eugene Levy) Ethan, I gotta ask you and Martin to take a ride to State Capital. (The Searchers; writing credit: Frank S. Nugent) Capital L, small a, Capital F, small o, small n, small g. LaFong (It's a Gift; writing credit: Jack Cunningham; W.C. Fields) | |
Lyrics | Stay kicking game with a capital G (No Diggity; performing artist: Blackstreet) I shot the sheriff, and they say it is a capital offense (I SHOT THE SHERIFF; performing artist: Eric Clapton) Got me seekin capital game when I spit sixteen (Down Ass Bitch; performing artist: Ja Rule) | |
Clever | Karl Marx's mother: If Karl, instead of writing a lot about capital, had made a lot of it; it would have been much better. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Capital on the Ottawa (1968) 5 Postcards From Capital Cities (1967) Buenos Aires capital (1963) Capital Madrid (1962) Imagens de Uma Capital (1961) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References |
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Books |
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Periodicals | |||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Overlooking the St. Mary's River from the graveyard at St. Mary's City. St. Mary's City was the first capital of Maryland. Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | A view of Male, capital of the Maldive Islands as seen from the NOAA Ship RONALD H. BROWN. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. |
 | Crewmember David Owen monitoring strain on lines while tying up the RONALD H. BROWN in Male, capital of the Maldive Islands. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. |  | Colonia - the capital city of Yap. Credit: Small World. |
 | The fuel depot at Colonia - the capital city of Yap. Credit: Small World. |  | Total per capital ethanol consumption, United States, 1935-98. Credit: NIAA. |
 | Cast iron column; column capital. Measured drawing delineated by U. J. Theriot and A. Boyd Cruise, April 1940. (Reproduction Number: HABS LA-53, sheet 21 of 26; negative number LC-USZA3-5) The cast-iron column and capital shown here in this HABS measured drawing are distinguishing features of the Le Pretre Mansion in the famous French Quarter of New Orleans. Built around 1836, the mansion is named after its second owner, Jean Baptiste Le Pretre, a local merchant who added the second- and third-story cast-iron balconies to the exterior after 1850. The mansion is also known for its high basement, the first of its kind to be built in the French Quarter. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | This three-story brick mansion was one of many great Georgian mansions built in Annapolis, the capital of Maryland, during the eighteenth century. Begun in 1769 for Samuel Chase, a young lawyer and future signer of the Declaration of Independence, the mansion passed unfinished two years later into the hands of the wealthy plantation owner Edward Lloyd IV. Lloyd hired the renowned English architect and master builder William Buckland to complete the mansion. The elaborate carved details, including the windows, cornices, and doorways, are by Buckland. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Leading other Royal Navy capital ships during maneuvers, circa the later 1920s. The next ship astern is HMS Renown. The extensive external side armor of Repulse and the larger "bulge" of Renown allow these ships to be readily differentiated. Photograph by Underwood & Underwood. Credit: NAVY. |  | Operating with other capital ships of the British Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean area, 12 May 1944. HMS Valiant is in the right distance. The French battleship Richelieu is in the left background. Photographed from a USS Saratoga (CV-3) plane. Credit: NAVY. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Swiss House of Parlament" by Christoph Burgdorfer Commentary: "Switzerland House of Parlament in Bern, Capital of Switzerland. ." | "Cristo Rei" by Luis Alves Commentary: "In 1940, the Portuguese Bishops, gathered in Fátima promised to build in front of the capital (Lisbon), a great monument to Christ, if Portugal was spared to the war that was going throughout the world. Built with offers from all over the country, inaugur" |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Play | Caption |
 | Excellent; great; superb; superior; good news; accomplished; admirable; attractive; capital; certified; champion; choice; choicest; desirable; distinctive; distinguished; estimable; exceptional; exemplary; exquisite; fine; finest; first; first-class; firs. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Antoine Rivarol | Ideas are a capital that bears interest only in the hands of talent. |
Charles Lamb | Boys are capital fellows in their own way, among their mates; but they are unwholesome companions for grown people. |
Daniel Webster | If you divorce capital from labor, capital is hoarded, and labor starves. |
| Failure is more frequently from want of energy than from the want of capital. | |
Edmund Burke | Nobility is a graceful ornament to the civil order. It is the Corinthian capital of polished society. |
Howard Scott | A criminal is a person with predatory instincts who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation. |
Karl Marx | When commercial capital occupies a position of unquestioned ascendancy, it everywhere constitutes a system of plunder. |
Mikhail A. Bakunin | The subordination of labor to capital is the source of all slavery: political, moral and material. |
Ralph Waldo Emerson | We estimate the wisdom of nations by seeing what they did with their surplus capital. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
John Locke | 1690 | And what will become of this paternal power in that part of the world, where one woman hath more than one husband at a time? or in those parts of America, where, when the husband and wife part, which happens frequently, the children are all left to the mother, follow her, and are wholly under her care and provision? If the father die whilst the children are young, do they not naturally every where owe the same obedience to their mother, during their minority, as to their father were he alive? and will any one say, that the mother hath a legislative power over her children? that she can make standing rules, which shall be of perpetual obligation, by which they ought to regulate all the concerns of their property, and bound their liberty all the course of their lives? or can she inforce the observation of them with capital punishments? for this is the proper power of the magistrate, of which the father hath not so much as the shadow. (Second Treatise of Government) |
US Bill of Rights | 1795 | Amendment V. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. (reference) |
Communist Manifesto | 1848 | Capital is, therefore, not a personal, it is a social power. (reference) |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | The method of discharging the obligation, both in respect of capital and of interest, so assumed shall be fixed by the Reparation Commission. (reference) |
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. | 1963 | In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. (Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1910) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Scarlet Letter | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | It was the capital letter A. |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | There is nothing at all to fear on the side of the populace of the capital. |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | I determined to go into business at once, and not wait to acquire the usual capital, using such slender means as I had already got. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Business | NBU’s capital is USD 513,8 million. (references) | |
The AFJPs have a minimum capital requirement of $3 million. (references) | ||
Most notable is the upturn in household purchases of capital goods. (references) | ||
Children | Tunisia | Many cities, including the capital, have begun to install wheelchair access ramps on city sidewalks. (references) |
Central African Republic | In previous years, the presence of international peacekeeping forces in the capital aggravated the problem of teenage prostitution. (references) | |
Civil Liberties | Botswana | GBC broadcasts reach viewers only in the capital area. (references) |
Economic History | Argentina | Per capital GDP: $7,700. (references) |
Tunisia | CAPITAL CONTROLS ARE STILL IN PLACE. (references) | |
Nicaragua | CINEMARK movie theater, U.S. capital. (references) | |
Human Rights | Cuba | Appeals in capital cases are automatic. (references) |
Belize | Trial by jury is mandatory in capital cases. (references) | |
Pakistan | Attorneys are appointed for indigents only in capital cases. (references) | |
Indigenous People | Mexico | The Zapatistas marched to the capital under the protection of government forces. (references) |
Malaysia | However, in a landmark judgement in May, the High Court in the provincial capital of Kuching, Sarawak, ruled that native customary rights of the indigenous people of Sarawak do not exist because of statute; rather, they are historically recognized rights which existed long before independence. (references) | |
Minorities | China | In Urumqi, the capital, 8 persons accused of having endangered social stability were sentenced to prison terms of between 4 and 13 years. (references) |
Political Economy | SWEDEN | No capital or exchange controls remain. (references) |
CHINA | China enjoys large inflows of foreign capital. (references) | |
PORTUGAL | Portugal maintains no current controls on capital flows. (references) | |
Political Rights | Niger | The mayor of the city of Agadez, the capital of a district that includes one-third of the country, is a woman. (references) |
Papua New Guinea | Voters elect a unicameral parliament with 109 members from all 19 provinces and the National Capital District. (references) | |
Gabon | In both sets of elections, opposition parties won most of the municipal council seats in the capital, Libreville, where the RNB candidate was elected mayor. (references) | |
Trade | Kenya | AFL is managed by Kenya Capital Partners. (references) |
Nepal | Promoters can sell their shares and repatriate capital. (references) | |
Tunisia | THE EIB ALSO FINANCES IMPORTS OF EUROPEAN CAPITAL GOODS. (references) | |
Travel | Costa Rica | There is good taxi and public bus service in the capital city of San Jose. (references) |
Djibouti | Petty crime occurs occasionally in the capital and elsewhere in the country. (references) | |
Qatar | Doha, the capital, is also Qatar's commercial, marketing and banking center. (references) | |
Women | Mongolia | It expanded its work outside the capital to 10 additional provinces. (references) |
Paraguay | No shelters for battered and abused women are available outside the capital of Asuncion. (references) | |
Tunisia | Women constitute 60 percent of all judges in the capital and 24 percent of the nation's total jurists. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Guatemala | There are 20 labor courts--7 in the capital and 13 located elsewhere around the country. (references) |
Guatemala | Seven of the Ministry's offices outside the capital have been accorded regional authority. (references) | |
Philippines | The highest rates are in the National Capital Region (NCR) and the lowest in rural regions. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | SLANG, n. The grunt of the human hog (Pignoramus intolerabilis) with an audible memory. The speech of one who utters with his tongue what he thinks with his ear, and feels the pride of a creator in accomplishing the feat of a parrot. A means (under Providence) of setting up as a wit without a capital of sense. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
John E. Sununu | Well, I've always supported cutting capital gains taxes, because they do discourage investment and economic growth. But I think where the tax code is concerned, the most important thing we could do right now is simplify it, reform it. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Andrew Jackson | 1829-1837 | To China and the East Indies our commerce continues in its usual extent, and with increased facilities which the credit and capital of our merchants afford by substituting bills for payments in specie. |
Harry S. Truman | 1945-1953 | We have expanded the Export-Import Bank and provided it with additional capital. |
Richard Nixon | 1969-1974 | Over the past twenty years, since I first came to this Capital as a freshman Congressman, I have visited most of the nations of the world. |
Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | Housing will face strong competition for investment capital from the industrial sector generally and the energy industries, in particular. |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | Up on Capital Hill, I saw that big, white dome, bulging with new tax revenues. |
George Bush | 1989-1993 | You must cut the capital gains tax on the people of this country. |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | Let us give this capital back to the people to whom it belongs. |
George W. Bush | 2001-2005 | See, by ending double taxation of dividends, we will increase the return on investing, which will draw more money into the markets to provide capital to build factories, to buy equipment, hire more people. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Capital" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 98.64% of the time. "Capital" is used about 9,959 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 98.64% | 9,824 | 961 |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 0.78% | 78 | 37,656 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.56% | 56 | 45,296 |
| Unclassified Items | 0.02% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Total | 100.00% | 9,959 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name | Country | Name |
| Australia | Barton Capital Holdings Ltd. | Canada | Goran Capital Inc. |
| China | Tianjin Capital Environmental Protection Company Limited | Germany | European Capital Beteiligungen (ECB) AG |
| Greece | Athenian Capital Holdings SA | Hong Kong | Beijing Capital International Airport Co. Ltd. |
| India | Reliance Capital Ltd | Indonesia | Bhakti Capital Indonesia Tbk. P.T. |
| Japan | Hitachi Capital Corporation | Luxembourg | Security Capital U.S. Reality (SC-US Reality) |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "capital": a capital dinner ♦ a capital error ♦ a capital idea! ♦ accumulate interest on the capital ♦ accumulation of capital ♦ Active capital ♦ albanian capital ♦ algerian capital ♦ american capital ♦ angolan capital ♦ annual capital expenditures survey ♦ australian capital ♦ Australian Capital Territory ♦ austrian capital ♦ authorised capital ♦ authorized capital ♦ authorized capital stock ♦ Axis of the Ionic capital ♦ belgian capital ♦ block capital ♦ borrowed capital ♦ brazilian capital ♦ british capital ♦ bulgarian capital ♦ called up capital ♦ cambodian capital ♦ canadian capital ♦ capital account ♦ capital accumulation ♦ capital allocation ♦ capital allowance ♦ capital allowances ♦ Capital and Codeine ♦ capital appreciation bond ♦ capital assets ♦ capital at hand ♦ capital bonus ♦ capital charges ♦ capital city ♦ capital commitments not provided for in the accounts ♦ capital consumption allowance ♦ capital consumption allowances ♦ capital contributions ♦ capital cost ♦ capital crime ♦ capital employed ♦ capital equipment ♦ capital error ♦ capital expenditure ♦ Capital Expenditures ♦ capital export ♦ Capital Financing ♦ capital flight ♦ capital fund ♦ capital gain ♦ capital gains ♦ capital gains tax ♦ capital goods ♦ capital Heights ♦ capital Hill ♦ Capital impairment ♦ capital inadequacy ♦ capital increase ♦ capital inflow ♦ capital invested ♦ capital investment ♦ capital investments ♦ capital issue ♦ capital issues ♦ capital letter ♦ capital letters ♦ capital levy ♦ capital loss ♦ Capital manse ♦ capital market ♦ capital movements ♦ capital murder ♦ capital of a sole proprietor ♦ capital of Afghanistan ♦ capital of Alabama ♦ capital of Alaska ♦ capital of Antigua and Barbuda ♦ capital of Argentina ♦ capital of Arizona ♦ capital of Arkansas ♦ capital of Armenia ♦ capital of Australia ♦ capital of Austria ♦ capital of Azerbaijan ♦ capital of Bahrain ♦ capital of Bangladesh ♦ capital of Barbados ♦ capital of Belgium ♦ capital of Benin ♦ capital of Botswana ♦ capital of Brazil ♦ capital of Burundi ♦ capital of Byelorussia ♦ capital of California ♦ capital of Cameroon ♦ capital of Canada. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "capital": capital-account, capital-accumulating, capital-adequacy, capital-adequecy, capital-augmenting, capital-based, capital-beneficiaries, capital-budgeting, capital-deepening, capital-expenditure, capital-exporting, capital-financed, capital-gains, capital-goods, capital-growth, capital-hungry, capital-importer, capital-importing, capital-infrastructure, capital-intensity, capital-intensive, capital-invested-in-agriculture, capital-investment, capital-l, capital-labour, capital-logic, capital-market-based, capital-markets, Capital-o, capital-output, capital-owning, capital-providers, capital-punishment, capital-raising, capital-rationing, capital-rich, capital-spending, capital-to-asset, capital-to-assets, capital-travail, capital-widening, capital-works. | |
Ending with "capital": money-capital, output-capital, venture-capital. | |
Containing "capital": non-capital ship. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
capital one | 21,105 | capital corp fairbanks | 262 |
capital punishment | 1,692 | capital management | 248 |
venture capital | 1,478 | capital market | 247 |
state capital | 1,427 | capital one com | 239 |
capital one credit card | 1,315 | capital fbr open | 235 |
capital gain tax | 1,315 | capital coast savings | 228 |
capital | 879 | capital fm | 214 |
capital one bank | 858 | capital radio | 207 |
ge capital | 757 | the capital grille | 197 |
topeka capital journal | 628 | capital health | 195 |
capital one.com | 593 | capital city bank | 195 |
capital one visa | 581 | capital city | 191 |
capital gain | 581 | capital blue cross | 184 |
capital fairbanks | 464 | washington capital | 182 |
capital one auto finance | 384 | human capital | 180 |
capital one master card | 325 | capital hms | 177 |
capital university | 287 | capital grill | 168 |
working capital | 274 | capital one card | 166 |
alliance capital | 273 | capital budgeting | 163 |
capital one credit | 270 | capital city savings | 157 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "capital"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | hoofstad (capital city, metropolis). (various references) | |
Albanian | shkronja kapitale (cap, caps), kryesor (arch, arterial, basal, Cardinal, central, chief, focal, foremost, fundamental, general, governing, grand, great, key, keynote, leading, main, major, pivotal, predominant, premier, primal, primary, prime, principal, topmost, trunk), kryeqytet (metropolis), kapitel, kapital (capital assets, capital stock, principal), i shkëlqyer (admirable, bright, brilliant, choice, copybook, corking, crack, cracking, Dandy, divine, excellent, fabulous, famous, fantastic, fantastical, fine, first rate, flamboyant, gaudy, glazy, glorious, glossy, gorgeous, great, heavenly, immense, marvellous, marvelous, perfect, pink, plum, powerful, prize, pukka, rare, ripping, royal, smashing, splendid, splendiferous, whizzbang, wicked), i rëndësishëm (consequential, earnest, epoch making, eventful, front page, grave, important, imported, impressive, inflated, jack in office, mattery, mouth-filling, notable, noteworthy, responsible, serious, sidy, significant, substantial, tidy), i madh (bally, big, black, bouncing, capacious, chuckle, chunking, close, grand, great, gross, intense, large, lumping, major, massive, mighty, pelting, thumping, vast, vasty, voluminous, whacking, whaling), i kapitalit, i dorës së parë (of the first magnitude, prime, ranking, roughcast), i dënueshëm me vdekje. (various references) | |
Arabic | متضمن إعداما, مال (assets, be inclined, bend, bent, cant, chattel, coins, estate, feel sympathy for, funds, gold, incline, lean, like, pelf, possessions, property, purse, shekels, skew, slant, slope, sympathize with, tilt, tip), حرف كبير, حرف إستهلالي, تاج العمود, عاصمة (metropolis), إستهلالي (inceptive, introductory, prefatory), أساسي (absolute, alkaline, basal, base, cardinal, close, constitutional, formal, fundamental, imperative, indispensable, innate, inward, leading, main, major, material, momentous, nub, organic, overriding, paramount, piece de resistance, primal, primary, principal, radical, right, staple, substantial, ultimate, underling), رأس مال (principal). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | състояние (case, condition, fettle, fig, fortune, means, pile, plight, position, posture, repair, shape, state, substance, train, way), столица (metropolis), смъртен (clayey, deadly, death, deathly, earthborn, fatal, mortal, mortuary), капител (head), капитален (grand), капитал (fund), главна буква (cap, capital letter, majuscule), главен (arterial, chief, decuman, general, grand, head, high, leading, magistral, main, major, master, pivotal, premier, primary, prime, principal, stellar), основен (abecedarian, alkali, alkaline, basal, basic, bottom, essential, fundamental, general, grade, gut, key, key note, main, organic, pivotal, polar, primal, prime, primitive, primordial, principal, radical, rudimental, rudimentary, substantial, thorough, thoroughgoing, tonic, ultimate, underlying), превъзходен (egregious, excellent, incompatible, nailing, pre eminent, rare, super, superb, superlative, swell, tiptop, top-hole, topping, transcendent, wizard). (various references) | |
Chinese | 資本 , 資 (expense, money, resources, to provide, to supply, to support), 资本, 首都 , 京 , 本錢 , 本金 (principal), 櫨 (smoke tree). (various references) | |
Czech | velké písmeno (capital letter), kapitál (pile, principal), hlavní mìsto. (various references) | |
Danish | versal (capital letter, upper-case letter), stort bogstav (capital letter, majuscule, upper-case letter), selskabskapital, passiver (liabilities, reserves and liabilities, stockholders'equity and liabilities), passiv (passive, quiescent), nominel kapital (capital stock, equity invested capital, joint stock capital, nominal capital, original capital, registered capital, share capital, share-capital), kapitalkonto (capital account, owner's equity account), kapital (property), kapitael, hovedstad, gæld (debt), formue (property), aktiekapital (capital stock, equity invested capital, joint stock capital, nominal capital, original capital, registered capital, share capital, share-capital). (various references) | |
Dutch | vermogen (ability, be able, be able to, possession, property), kapitaal (capital letter, fund), hoofdstad (capital city, metropolis). (various references) | |
Esperanto | kapitalo, ĉefurbo (capital city, metropolis). (various references) | |
Faeroese | høvuðsstaður (capital city, metropolis). (various references) | |
Farsi | فوقانی (Upper, Uppish, Upside), پایتخت , مستلزم بریدن سریاقتل , قابل مجازات مرگ , حرف درشت , حرف بزرگ , سرمایه (Asset, Stock, Turnover), سرلوله بخاری , سرستون (Head), عالی (Beautiful, Brave, Excellent, Exquisite, Famous, Fine, Gallant, High, Immense, Knockout, Lofty, Much, Palmary, Remarkable, Ripping, Spiffy, Splendid, Super, Superb, Superlative, Supreme, Swank, Unrivaled), راسی (Cephalic, Vertical), دارای اهمیت حیاتی . (various references) | |
Finnish | pääoma (property). (various references) | |
French | capital, capitale (capital city, capitol), fonds, chapiteau (cap). (various references) | |
Frisian | haadstêd (capital city, metropolis). (various references) | |
German | Kapital (asset, capital investments, capitally, fund, major, noble, principal, royal), Hauptstadt (capital city, metropolis), groß (big, bigly, capitalized, considerable, copious, full, grand, great, grievous, keen, large, large scale, large-capacity, largely, lengthy, long, major, near, sharp, sizable, sizably, tall, upper case, wide). (various references) | |
Greek | κεφαλαίο γράμμα (capital letter, upper-case letter), κεφάλαιο (asset, chapter, fund, principal, stock), πρωτεύουσα. (various references) | |
Hebrew | מצוין (distinguished, eminent, excellent, fine, outstanding, ripping, shining, spanking, splendid, sterling, superb, surpassing, swell), עיר בירה, עקרי (central, fundamental, leading, main, major, pivotal, preponderant, primary, principal, staple, substantial), אות רישית, כותרת עמוד, כותרת (caption, heading, rubric, title), הון (riches, wealth), בירה (beer, citadel), ראשי (chief, leading, main, major, paramount, primary, principal, staple, top), רכוש (estate, hold, possession, property, substance, wealth), רבתי (great, large, mighty). (various references) | |
Hungarian | kéménytoldat (cowl), alaptőke (authorized capital, auxiliary capital, joint stock, share capital, stock), desztilláló sisak, fôváros (capital city, metropolis), fő- (head, major, ruling, staple, topmost), főbenjáró, főváros (capital city, capital town), fõ (capita, chief, cook, ground, head, high, leading, principal), fõváros, óriási (colossal, elephantine, enormous, gargantuan, giant, giantlike, gigantean, gigantesque, gigantic, grandiose, helluva, huge, immeasurable, immense, jumbo, mammoth, monster, monstrous, mountainous, prodigious, smashing, smashing victory, stupendous, terrific, tremendous, vast, vasty, way-out, whacking, whopping), kéménysisak (cowl, funnel bonnet), törzsvagyon, kapitális, legfőbb (chief, last, paramount, primal, staple, supreme), nagybetű (capital letter), nagybetû (capital letter, majuscule, upper case), oszlopfő (head), oszlopfõ, tőke (assets, fund, lockup, principal, stock), tõke (assets), fontos (important, main, major, memorabilia, memorable, momentous, of some account, ponderous, serious, significant, stressful, substantial). (various references) | |
Indonesian | kapital, ibukota, huruf besar (caps). (various references) | |
Irish | caipiteal, rachmas. (various references) | |
Italian | capitale (capitally, fund, funds, main, prime, principal), capitello (headband). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 原資 (principal), 出資金 , 元入金 , 元手 (funds, stock), 元本 (principal), 元金 (principal), 京 (metropolis, ten quadrillion, thousand billion), 京師 (metropolis, old Kyoto), カバー曲 (black coffee, Cabala, cafe, cafe a la creme, cafe au lait, cafe bar, cafe cabaret, cafe royal, cafeteria, caffeine, cappuccino, capriccio, capsule, capsule hotel, cavalier, coupler, coverage, cub, cub scout, cuff links, cuffs, expresso coffee, Kabbalah, Kabul, Neapolitan coffee, Qabalah, remake of another artist's song, sidewalk cafe), 京華 (flower capital), 都 , 素敵 (beautiful, cool, dreamy, fantastic, great, lovely, superb), 首府 (metropolis), 資本 (funds), 資本 (funds), 資本論 (Das Kapital), 資金 (funds), 資金 (funds), 都 (metropolitan, municipal), 京洛 (Kyoto). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | きょうらく (enjoyment, Kyoto, pleasure), けいし (brother and sister, despise, execution, heir, heiress, ignore, metropolis, metropolitan police, neglect, old Kyoto, police superintendent, ruledpaper, slight, stepchild, successor), けいらく (Kyoto), けいか (expiration, flower capital, light of a firefly, passage, progress), げんし (apparition, atom, origin, original poem, phantom limb, primeval, principal, reduction of capital, silkworm egg sheet, stencil, strict order, thread for weaving, vision, visual hallucination, your order), げんぽん (original copy, principal, script, the original), もとにゅうきん, もとで (funds, stock), みやこ (metropolis), カピタン , すてき (beautiful, cool, dreamy, fantastic, great, lovely, superb), しゅっしきん, しゅふ (housewife, metropolis, mistress), しほん (funds), しほんろん (Das Kapital), しきん (funds, monetary grant, very near), がんぽん (principal), がんきん (advance payment, asymptote, principal), もときん (principal). (various references) | |
Korean | 주요한 (main). (various references) | |
Manx | mullagh (apex, ceiling, ceiling of prices, crest, crest of wave, crisis, crisis of illness, culmination, eminence, peak, pinnacle, ridge, roofing, summit, top, vertex), lettyr mooar (capital letter), kione-lettyr (block letter, initial letter), bun-argid (floating capital, principal), ard-valley (acropolis, city). (various references) | |
Norwegian | hovedstad (capital city, metropolis). (various references) | |
Papiamen | kapital (capital city, metropolis). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | apitalcay.(various references) | |
Polish | stolica (capital city, metropolis). (various references) | |
Portuguese | capital (bank stock, capital city, chief, main, major, metropolis, principal, principal city, wad), letra maiúscula (upper case). (various references) | |
Romanian | capital (assets, chief, corpus, essential, fund), capitalã (metropolis, town), capitel, fain (grand), bravo (attaboy, bravo, bully, excellent, good business, good show, hear, hot dog, well done), bun (affectionate, applicable, belongings, beneficial, benevolent, bonny, bright, canny, clever, decent, domain, eminent, fair, favorable, favourable, fine, fit, fitting, fond, fortunate, fortune, genuine, good, goods, grand, grandfather, grandparent, happy, honest, humane, kind, kindly, nice, okay, pleasurable, proper, real, right, salutary, skilful, skillful, soft-hearted, splendid, suitable, true, upright, useful, virtuous, well, wholesome), admirabil (admirable, admirably, beautiful, brave, excellent, grand, special, splendid, that's splendid, tiptop, wonderful), excelent (a1, best, champion, clinking, consummate, crack, excellent, excellently, exquisite, fine, first rate, golden, great, noble, passing, roaring, special, splendid, that's capital, tiptop, topping), venit (catch, emoluments, gain, income, receipt, rent, revenue, yield), fundamental (base, basic, basically, essential, fundamental, fundamentally, main, prime, principal, ultimate, vital), literã mare, majusculã (capital letter), minunat (beautiful, beautifully, best, brave, bright, champion, charming, delightfully, exceptional, jolly, lovely, magic, magical, marvellous, miraculous, paradisaic, paradisaical, passing, proud, royal, special, splendid, strange, superb, superbly, supernatural, tiptop, wonderful, wonder-working), principal (broad, Cardinal, chief, first, front, grand, head, high, leading, main, notional, premier, primal, prime, principal, staple), sursã (beginning, derivation, efflux, fountain, hand, mother, parent, quarry, rise, root, source, spring, well, wellhead), esenţial (constituent, constitutive, elemental, essential, fundamental, indispensable, main, meat, prime, principal, vital). (various references) | |
Russian | столица (metropolis), уголовный (criminal, penal), капитель (cap), капитальный, капитал;столица основной, капитал (fund), главный город, главный (best, central, general, governing, grand, head, hegemonic, magistral, main, major, primal, primary, prime, principal), заглавный (title), заглавная буква, превосходный (admirable, bang-up, beautiful, clinking, divine, excellent, fine, grand, groovy, hunky-dory, jim-dandy, nailing, once-stellar, palmary, posh, prime, smashing, spanking, superb, superlative, surpassing, tiptop, top-hole, topnotch, top-notch, transcendent, unexceptionable, unexceptional), первоклассный (bang-up, champion, classy, first class, first rate, first-rate, gilt-edged, hunky-dory, lummy, pucka, pukka, splendid, sterling, super, tiptop, top flight, topflight, top-flight, top-hole, top-line, topnotch, top-notch, top-quality). (various references) | |
Scottish | garbh-litir (capital letter). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | kapital, glavni grad (capital city), glavni (arch, basic, cardinal, chief, general, head, key, leading, magistral, main, major, paramount, premier, prime, principal, salient, trunk). (various references) | |
Spanish | capital (capital city, chief, entire, metropolis, principal, stock, stock in trade), mayúscula (capital letter, majuscule), capitel (chapiter). (various references) | |
Swedish | kapital (corpus, principal), huvudstad (capital city, metropolis), versal (capital letter, upper case, uppercase), fond (back, background, centre, foundation, fund, stock, store). (various references) | |
Thai | เมืองหลวง, ที่เป็นหลัก, คนร่ำรวย (capitalist, nawab), ดีเยี่ยม (choice, excel, far-out), ข้อได้เปรียบ. (various references) | |
Turkish | ciddi (austere, businesslike, critical, demure, devout, earnest, eventful, forbidding, grave, gut, important, momentous, mortally, sedate, serious, sober, sober minded, solemn, staid, starched, unsmiling), cezası ölüm olan, sermaye (corpus, fund, principal, stock, stock in trade), ölüm (bitter end, deadly, death, decease, demise, departure, dissolution, doom, dying, end, ending, exit, killing, kiss off, last, latter end, longed-for rest, mortuary, necro-, obituary, passing, passing away, quietus, rest, sleep, the great divide, the grim reaper, the reaper, tomb), önde gelen (arch-, central, first, foremost, prominent), önemli (big, big time, consequential, considerable, emphatic, emphatical, eventful, fateful, grand, grave, great, gut, healthy, heavy, high, historic, historical, important, leading, major, momentous, noteworthy, of importance, of note, of weight, prominent, respectable, serious, significant, smart, solemn, star, substantial, top-line, urgent, weighty, worthy), ana (basic, broad, Cardinal, chief, fundamental, governing, grand, guiding, head, key, leading, main, main part, major, master, matron, mother, parent, predominant, primary, principal, principle, staple), büyük (almighty, ample, big, bulky, capacious, cyclopean, elder, enormous, exalted, extended, grand, grand-, great, great-, handsome, healthy, high, keen, large, large scale, long, macro-, magniloquent, major, mega-, megalo-, mighty, no end, no end of, older, out, precious, rousing, senior, smart, star, stout, sublime, swingeing, wide), büyük harf (capital letter, majuscule, upper case), baş (arch, arch-, beginning, beginnings, bow, central, chief, coconut, costard, especial, first, foremost, general, governing, grand, head, heading, in chief, initial, knob, leader, master, nob, noddle, off, outset, potato, premier, primal, primary, prime, principal, sconce, top), baxkent (capital city, metropolis), çıkar (advantage, benefit, expedience, expediency, grist to the mill, interest, number one, profit, self, stake), sütun başı, sermaye ile ilgili, kâr (avail, avails, benefit, catch, fruit, gain, gainings, increment, melon, pay dirt, profit, return), kapital (cap, corpus, funds), kazanç (acquirement, acquisition, avails, benefit, convenience, credit, earnings, gain, gainings, grist, income, increment, make, melon, proceeds, profit, receipt, revenues, spoil, takings, winnings, yield), kusursuz (accomplished, beyond reproach, blameless, clean, correct, excellent, faultless, final, flawless, free from taint, immaculate, impeccable, indefectible, irreproachable, perfect, precise, root and branch, taintless, the dandy, the perfect, thorough, thoroughgoing, unblemished, unimpeachable), mühim (important, momentous), mükemmel (accomplished, all around, alpha plus, ambrosial, bang up, banner, beyond praise, bully, champion, classic, classical, classy, commanding, complete, consummate, cool, copybook, Dandy, dreamy, elegant, excellent, famous, famously, faultless, fine, finished, first class, great, immense, jolly good, no mean, par excellence, perfect, ripping, scrumptious, slap up, smashing, smooth, solid, sovereign, spiffing, spiffy, splendid, splendiferous, super, superb, superlative, that takes the cake, the dandy, thorough, thoroughgoing, tiptop, to a turn, to the nines, topping, triumphant, unique), başkent (cap, metropolis, metropolitan). (various references) | |
Turkmen | paяtagt. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | головне місто, прекрасний (admirable, adorable, ambrosial, beauteous, delectable, delicious, fine, out of this world, something like, splendid, splendiferous), багатство (affluence, bag, fortune, mammon, means, moneybag, oof, opulence, pocket, profusion, purse, riches, richness, the dollars, thrift, wad, weal, wealth), заголовний, майно (asset, aught, baggage, estate, goods, holding, property, stuff, things, worth), найважливіший (central, chief, first rate, overriding, topmost), основний (basal, base, basic, basilar, central, chief, first, foremost, fundamental, key, main, master, organic, primary, primitive, principal, quintessence, radical, staple, substantial, ultimate, underlying), вигода (accommodation, account, advantage, avail, behoof, boot, emolument, profit, spoil), великий (big, bulky, bumping, copious, goodly, great, king size, large, out, vast), перевага (advantage, allowance, ascendant, asset, benefit, boon, bulge, convenience, easement, excellence, excellency, odds, overbalance, overweight, precedence, precedency, preference, preponderance, prepotence, prepotency, privilege, pull, purchase, start, superiority, supremacy, transcendence, vantage), головний (arch-, basal, basic, broad, captain, cephalic, chief, governing, grand, head, leading, master, overriding, premier, primal, primary, prime, principal, staple, star), столичний (metropolitan), клас капіталістів, капітал (boodle, fund, principal), капіталісти, капітальний, капітель, тяжкий (arduous, baffling, chargeable, cumbersome, difficult, uphill), чудовий (a, admirable, adorable, ambrosial, bang up, beautiful, brave, bright, bully, champion, charming, clinking, consummate, crack, Dandy, delectable, delicious, delightful, eminent, excellent, fine, flawless, glorious, goluptious, gorgeous, immense, magnific, magnifical, magnificent, noble, notable, noted, palmary, peachy, posh, prime, princely, proper, providential, ravishing, remarkable, resplendent, ripping, something like, sovereign, spiffing, superb, super-duper, topping, undeniable, way out, wizard, wonderful), що карається смертю, столиця (metropolis), велика літера (cap). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | cơ bản (basal, basic, basically, elementary, fundamental), cốt yếu (essential), xuất sắc (capitally, classy, clinking, crack, distinguished, egregious, excellent, jim-dandy, noble, prime, shining, top-notch), thượng hạng (excellent, topping), thủ phủ chữ viết hoa tiền vốn, thủ đô (metropolis), quan hệ đến sinh mạng; tử hình chính, lợi dụng, lớn tuyệt diệu, kiếm chác ở, ưu tú (dandy, excellent, noble, ripping, stellar, top-hole, top-notch), ở trên hết chủ yếu, ở trên đầu (overhead), ở đầu. (various references) | |
Welsh | cyfalaf, prifddinas (metropolis). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | capita, capitalis, capitaque, capite, capitella, capitelli, capitello, capitellorum, capitellum, capiti, capitibus, capitis, capitium, capitum, caput, epistylia. (various references) |
| Late Latin | 300-700 | capitale. (various references) |
| Old English | 450-1100 | heahburg. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | 2 Chronicles Chapter 3, Verse 15 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Kai epoihsen emprosqen tou oikou stulouV duo phcewn triakonta pente to uyoV kai taV kefalaV autwn phcewn pente |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Ante fores etiam templi duas columnas quae triginta et quinque cubitos habebant altitudinis porro capita earum quinque cubitorum |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | Before the yatis also of the temple two pylers, `the whiche thritty and fyue cubitis hadden of heiyt; forsothe the heuedis of hem of fyue cubitis. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | And in front of the house he made two pillars, thirty-five cubits high, with crowns on the tops of them, five cubits high. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | 2 Chronicles Chapter 3, Verse 15 |
| Cebuano | Siya usab naghimo ug duha-ka haligi nga may katloan ug lima ko maniko ang gitas-on sa atubangan sa balay, ug ang ulo nga diha sa tumoy sa tagsa-tagsa niini may taglima ka maniko. |
| Croatian | Pred Dvoranom napravi dva stupa dugaèka trideset i pet lakata, a glavice im na vrhu pet lakata. |
| Danish | Foran Templet lavede han to Søjler. De var fem og tredive Alen høje, og Søjlehovedet oven på dem var fem Alen. |
| Dutch | Nog maakte hij voor het huis twee pilaren, van vijf en dertig ellen in lengte; en het kapiteel, dat op derzelver hoofd was, was van vijf ellen. |
| Finnish | Ja hän teki temppelin eteen kaksi pylvästä, kolmenkymmenen viiden kyynärän korkuista; ja pylväänpää, joka oli niiden päässä, oli viittä kyynärää korkea. |
| French | Il fit devant la maison deux colonnes de trente-cinq coudées de hauteur, avec un chapiteau de cinq coudées sur leur sommet. |
| German | Und er machte vor dem Hause zwei Säulen, fünfunddreißig Ellen lang und der Knauf obendrauf fünf Ellen, |
| Haitian Creole | Salomon fè fè de gwo poto won. Yo chak te gen senkannde pye wotè. Li mete yo kanpe devan Tanp lan. Tèt poto yo te mezire sèt pye edmi wotè. |
| Hungarian | Két oszlopot is csináltata a ház elõtt, a melyeknek hossza harminczöt sing vala, és gömböt felül mindenikre, a mely öt sing vala. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Dan diperbuatnya akan rumah itu dua batang tiang, panjangnya tiga puluh lima hasta, dan karangan yang di atas cupu tiang itulah lima hasta. |
| Italian | Di fronte al tempio eresse due colonne, alte trentacinque cubiti; il capitello sulla cima di ciascuna era di cinque cubiti. |
| Maori | I hanga ano e ia etahi pou e rua ki mua i te whare, e toru tekau ma rima whatianga te roa, e rima whatianga o te whakapaipai i runga i tetahi, i tetahi. |
| Norwegian | Foran huset gjorde han to søiler, som tilsammen var fem og tretti alen høie, og søilehodet ovenpå dem var fem alen. |
| Portuguese | Diante da casa fez duas colunas de trinta e cinco côvados de altura; e o capitel que estava sobre cada uma era de cinco côvados. |
| Rumanian | A fqcut knaintea casei doi stklpi de treizeci wi cinci de coyi knqlyime, cu un cap de cinci coyi kn vkrful lor. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "capital": capitalise, capitalised, capitalises, capitalising, capitalism, capitalisms, capitalist, capitalistic, capitalistically, capitalists, capitalization, capitalizations, capitalize, capitalized, capitalizes, capitalizing, capitally, capitals. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "capital": noncapital. (additional references) | |
Words containing "capital": anticapitalism, anticapitalisms, anticapitalist, anticapitalists, noncapitalist, noncapitalists, noncapitals, overcapitalization, overcapitalizations, overcapitalize, overcapitalized, overcapitalizes, overcapitalizing, postcapitalist, precapitalist, precapitalists, recapitalization, recapitalizations, recapitalize, recapitalized, recapitalizes, recapitalizing, uncapitalized, undercapitalized. (additional references) | |
| |
"Capital" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Capelat, capishe, capit, capitaal, capitali, capite, capitel, capiti, capitial, capitole, Captal, captial, Caputi, casisteal, cpaital, cubital, kapital, Scarpitta. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "capital" (pronounced ka"putul) |
| 7 | k a" p u t u l | Capitol. |
| 5 | -p u t u l | occipital. |
| 4 | -u t u l | congenital, digital, extramarital, genital, marital, nonvolatile, orbital, parietal, pivotal, premarital, skeletal, societal, vegetal, versatile, volatile. |
| 3 | -t u l | infantile, infertile, accidental, acquittal, anecdotal, artiodactyl, battle, beetle, belittle, betel, bicoastal, bottle, brattle, Bristol, brittle, brutal, butyl, Cantle, cattle, chattel, chortle, coastal, coincidental, committal, compartmental, consonantal, continental, crustal, crystal, dental, detrimental, developmental, disgruntle, dismantle, distal, ductile, elemental, embattle, entitle, environmental, experimental, fatal, fertile, fetal, fractal, frontal, fundamental, futile, gentle, glottal, governmental, horizontal, hospital, hostel, hostile, hurtle, immortal, immotile, incidental, incremental, spittle, startle, subtitle, subtle, supplemental, tactile, tattle, temperamental, instrumental, intercontinental, intergovernmental, judgmental, kettle, Kittel, Kittle, lentil, lintel, little, mantel, mantle, mental, metal, mettle, monumental, mortal, motile, Myrtle, Natal, neonatal, nettle, noncommittal, nonfatal, nongovernmental, occidental, oriental, ornamental, parental, pedestal, periodontal, petal, Pistil, pistol, portal, postal, postnatal, Pottle, prattle, prefrontal, prenatal, projectile, quintal, rattle, rebuttal, recital, rectal, regimental, rental, resettle, scuttle, sentimental, settle, shuttle, skittle, throttle, title, tittle, tootle, total, transcendental, transcontinental, transmittal, turtle, unsentimental, unsettle, unsubtle, varietal, vestal, vital, vittle, Whittle, Wintle. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-a-c-i-l-p-t" | |
-1 letter: apical, capita. | |
-2 letters: clapt, clipt, pical, plait, plica, tical. | |
-3 letters: acta, alit, atap, clap, clip, clit, laic, lati, lipa, paca, pact, pail, pial, pica, pita, plat, tail, tala, talc, tali, tapa. | |
-4 letters: aal, act, ail, ait, ala, alp, alt, apt, cap, cat, lac, lap, lat, lip, lit, pac, pal, pat, pia, pic, pit, tap. | |
-5 letters: aa. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-a-c-i-l-p-t" | |
+1 letter: aplastic, atypical, capitals, capitula, haptical. | |
+2 letters: aliphatic, analeptic, apiculate, aplanatic, applicant, asphaltic, caliphate, capitally, capitular, paralytic, piratical, placating, placation, placative, plasmatic, practical. | |
+3 letters: allopatric, alphabetic, altarpiece, analeptics, anaplastic, apolitical, apothecial, applicants, applicator, atypically, caliphates, capability, capitalise, capitalism, capitalist, capitalize, capitulary, capitulate, cataleptic, noncapital, nyctalopia, paclitaxel, paniculate, paralytics, particular, pathetical, patricidal, phatically, placations, plainchant, playacting, practicals. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Sounds 10. Quotations: Familiar 11. Quotations: Historic 12. Quotations: Fiction | 13. Quotations: Non-fiction 14. Quotations: Spoken 15. Quotations: Speeches 16. Usage Frequency | 17. Names: Company Usage 18. Expressions 19. Expressions: Internet 20. Translations: Modern | 21. Translations: Ancient 22. Bible Trace 23. Abbreviations 24. Acronyms | 25. Derivations 26. Rhymes 27. Anagrams 28. Bibliography |
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