Regenerative Capital Theory: Beyond Debt, Equity, and Grants

This paper introduces regenerative capital as a distinct paradigm of economic organisation: non-extractive, non-depletive, multi-cycle capital that strengthens institutions over time. It generalises the logic introduced by Perennial Social Capital (PSC) — a zero-interest, non-liability, soft-repayable, indefinitely recyclable capital class — and articulates the theoretical principles unifying its behaviour across public finance, philanthropy, and institutional economics. We argue that regenerative capital stands orthogonally to debt, equity, and grants: it preserves principal, avoids liability and interest burdens, and enables multi-cycle deployment of the same capital base. Building on PSC's formal model of capital evolution, social value productivity, and system-level return metrics — the System Internal Rate of Return and the System Value Multiplier — this paper develops a broader theoretical architecture for long-horizon institutional strengthening.