Capital accumulation relies on unequal exchange and the appropriation of other people's resources through technological infrastructure and symbolic claims. The document compares capital accumulation in 15th century Peru through agricultural terraces and ceremonial redistribution of maize beer to 18th century England through textile factories and wages. It argues these systems of unequal exchange in different cultures can be viewed as similar forms of capital accumulation through human evaluations. It also discusses how to quantify unequal exchange beyond monetary terms by considering embodied materials, energy, environmental damage, land requirements, and labor time.

3. Landesque capital in ancient Peru

6. Capital accumulation as appropriation

8. The Industrial Revolution as time-space appropriation Commodity Volume for £1000 in 1850 Embodied labor Embodied land Raw cotton 11.84 tons 32,619 h 58.6 ha Cotton cloth 3.41 tons 4,092 h - 1 ha