The concept of original accumulation or previous accumulation or primitive accumulation of capital, was a central concern of classical political economists. The core question is how did it happen that a small percentage of the population obtained possession of the necessary resources to start businesses which employ people and gain profit; and analyzing how it happened that the vast majority of the population came to be in the condition of having...
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The concept of original accumulation or previous accumulation or primitive accumulation of capital, was a central concern of classical political economists. The core question is how did it happen that a small percentage of the population obtained possession of the necessary resources to start businesses which employ people and gain profit; and analyzing how it happened that the vast majority of the population came to be in the condition of having no sources of self-sustainment and having therefore to survive by selling their labor for a living wage.
Adam Smith's account of primitive-original accumulation depicted a peaceful process. David Harvey summarized Smith's description of the process: "There were some people that were hard working and some people who were not. Some people who could be bothered, and some people who could not be bothered. And the result of that was that, bit by bit, those who were hard working, and could be bothered, accumulated some wealth. And eventually, those...
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