Individualism Is Stupid ( Or Why Libertarianism And Objectivism Is Stupid)

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Why is capital necessarily a 'collective product'? Is this referring to how capital is produced or used?

Short answer: how it is produced.

Marx is criticizing the term "individual" being used as a euphemism for bourgeois dominance. He was just noting that it takes a "collective" of sorts to mass produce something. The capitalist is given "the credit" for the success of his company, but he needed a whole bunch of workers (including children, who worked in factories instead of being educated in Marx's day). On top of that, the capitalist needs roads, police to enforce laws, and all kinds of other infrastructure in order to do business. To Marx, capitalism itself is collectivism of sorts, and simply by being a wealthy business owner, one's livelihood is indirectly supported by a number of public ventures.

Definitely - capitalism is a system supported by a host of regulations that enable it. I'd say from a capitalist perspective, though, the ability to incentivize those workers to work for you is the individual aspect. Other people and governments are seen as... almost tools, not an entity that helps one out of the goodness of their hearts. I'd say a capitalist wouldn't expect these things to work in his favor if he hadn't duly coerced (through whatever means) the collective to support him.