Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

arrow_back_ios_new
MENTAL MODEL · M1012

Fictitious Capital

Fictitious Capital
BusinessHigh supportPolitical Economy
Included
account_tree

Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Capital without a material production base (e.g., stocks, bonds, derivatives). They are claims on future earnings, not actual present value.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Asset check-up. In a bull market, your account balance may be just 'fictitious capital.' Once confidence collapses (future expectations disappear), this wealth does not 'shrink'—it never truly existed.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

In Marxian political economy, it refers to capital valuation based on expectations of future returns (e.g., stocks, bonds, ground rent), whose value depends on expectations rather than current reality.

MINIMUM ACTION

In progress 0/1

Practice this model in one real situation:

Check to track your progress (stored locally)
Learning progress0%
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more

Source support: Explicit

  • link
    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictitious_capitalZH · Explicit
    verified

RELATED MODELS

Related model

Candlemakers' Petition

Bastiat’s fictional petition to block sunlight satirizes trade protectionism.

arrow_forwardRelated model

How Might We / HMW

A questioning format that transforms pain points or challenges into opportunities.

arrow_forwardRelated model

The Sovereign Individual

The sovereign citizen movement is broadly a collection of litigants (primarily in the United States), commentators, anti-tax protesters, and financial product salespeople who hold similar beliefs. They consider themselves bound only by informal interpretations of common law, and by relying on these interpretations, they claim to be exempt from government legislation and judicial procedures. Within the United States, they do not recognize the US dollar as currency and believe they are not subject to regulatory legislation, such as vehicle registration and taxation.

arrow_forward