This article traces the early conceptualization, though not the term itself, of natural capital in the thought of Adam Smith. Natural capital is defined as the idea of natural resource production independent of human intervention. The main modern scholarship regarding the history of the term “natural capital” in economic thought is overviewed. Adam Smith’s early recognition of the concept of natural capital, specifically in connection with agricultural production, is then outlined, noting that while this was not a central part of his political-economic thought, it does prove that the conceptualization of natural capital was part of modern economic discourse from its early formulation in the eighteenth century.

本文追溯了亚当·斯密（Adam Smith）思想中自然资本的早期概念化，尽管不是术语本身。自然资本被定义为独立于人类干预的自然资源生产理念。概述了有关经济思想中“自然资本”一词的历史的主要现代学者。然后概述了亚当·斯密（Adam Smith）对自然资本概念的早期认可，特别是与农业生产有关的自然资本，并指出，尽管这不是他的政治经济学思想的核心部分，但确实证明了自然资本的概念是其中的一部分。 18世纪早期的现代经济话语。