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>From the paper by Nikolai Polevoi, the Russian historian and economist, 
published in 1828 (translation is mine): 
 
"...matter proper _cannot be produced_ , and... all human production only 
consists in _transforming matter_ which neither perishes nor is 
resurrected, 
but remains the same, only varying its forms and shapes. To satisfy human 
needs, it should be given a specific shape, and when this shape is agreable 
to man, it becomes a piece of _value_, turns into _capital_ and forms 
_wealth_. What value has emerged for, little we care; suffice it that it is 
being _demanded_, and we hardly wonder when 100,000 is paid for a bright 
stone, 1000 roubles for a piece of iron in the shape of a Damaskian dagger, 
10,000 roubles for a piece of wool in the shape of a shawl. 
 
"We observe that matter proper _costs nothing_." 
 
Material wealth "is produced by the mind, the mind is formed by education". 
 
All people are producers not just of capital but of happiness, "the 
productions, both material and immaterial, only being the means for it." 
 
How original did it all sound in 1828? On the title page, Polevoi gives, in 
brackets, the French term, "capital immateriel". Was the term in use by the 
French economists at the time? 
 
I would appreciate any suggestions. 
 
Yuri Tulupenko 
Herzen University, St. Petersburg, Russia 
 
 
 
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