Maybe in some cases. But I guess in most cases profit depends on labor as well as capital, so "return on capital" would be an incomplete and therefore inaccurate description of profit. The march of civilizations is a series of defenses that man has put up against the dread of pure existence.
Bingo. So you're saying rentier profit is theft...
But I think you're conflating profit and surplus. How about in most cases surplus depends on labor as well as capital, in which case "return on capital" can describe profit, and the surplus is divided between profit and wages? En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma
If it is a political matter, then "return on capital" and "return on labour" are misleading and one should rather speak of "value added" by the production process as a whole, and "value captured" by different parties to the production.
- Jake If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.
