Human potential and human capital: essence and difference of concepts

The article presents the results of a comparative analysis of the concepts of "human potential" and "human capital", highlights their differences, shows that in the course of history, governing structures usually appealed to the category of human capital, even if they called it human potential. In its most general form, human potential differs from human capital by the priority of humanistic views over utilitarian and pragmatic ones. In other words, human potential, unlike human capital, considers all the abilities, talents and aspirations of a person, regardless of whether they are profitable in the present or in the future. Also, the concept of human potential, unlike capital, does not imply a value expression. A historical review of the emergence and development of these concepts is given, it is shown how the evolution of terms (from human capital to human potential) is a consequence of the development of society and changes in attitudes towards a person. The scientific approach to man is to shift the focus of research from the utilitarian concept of human capital towards the humanistic paradigm of human development.