For Marx, accumulation, or capitalist accumulation, is the process through which profits from businesses are placed back into production. This creates more capital for further capitalist expansion.

Although the term has come to refer to the middle class in general, for Marx, “bourgeoisie” specifically refers to the class of people who own the means of production (i.e., factory owners/capitalists).

Marx uses “capital” specifically to refer to money that is used to generate more money through investments and business activities, not simply to buy commodities. Capital can be either constant capital, which is the expense behind the tools and raw materials used for production, or variable capital, which is the cost of the actual labor power used.