David Ricardo: The Timeless Wisdom, Unveiling Economic Brilliance

By Fouad Sabry

Who is David Ricardo

David Ricardo was a political economist, politician, and member of the Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland. He was born in the United Kingdom. The likes of Thomas Malthus, Adam Smith, and James Mill are among the classical economists who are considered to be among the most influential. He is also considered to be one of the most influential.

How you will benefit

(I) Insights about the following:

Chapter 1: David Ricardo

Chapter 2: Labor theory of value

Chapter 3: Piero Sraffa

Chapter 4: Comparative advantage

Chapter 5: Classical economics

Chapter 6: Cost-of-production theory of value

Chapter 7: Robin Hahnel

Chapter 8: On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation

Chapter 9: Heckscher-Ohlin model

Chapter 10: New trade theory

Chapter 11: Law of value

Chapter 12: Tendency of the rate of profit to fall

Chapter 13: Law of rent

Chapter 14: Ricardian economics

Chapter 15: Luigi Pasinetti

Chapter 16: Ricardian socialism

Chapter 17: Anwar Shaikh (economist)

Chapter 18: Piercy Ravenstone

Chapter 19: Perspectives on capitalism by school of thought

Chapter 20: International trade theory

Chapter 21: Marxian economics

Who this book is for

Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information about David Ricardo.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: Jan 12, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: David Ricardo

David Ricardo was a British political economist, politician, and member of the Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland from 18 April 1772 to 11 September 1823. Alongside Thomas Malthus, Adam Smith, and James Mill, he is acknowledged as one of the most influential classical economists.

Born in London as the third surviving child of a successful stockbroker and his wife, Ricardo was of Portuguese Sephardic Jewish descent. At the age of 21, he eloped with a Quaker and converted to Unitarianism, which alienated him from his family. He amassed a fortune through financing government borrowing and later retired to a Gloucestershire estate. As an earnest reformer, Ricardo served as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire and purchased a seat in Parliament. He was friends with notable figures such as James Mill, Jeremy Bentham, and Thomas Malthus, with whom he engaged in numerous debates. Ricardo was a member of The Geological Society, and his sister was a published author.

As the Member of Parliament for Portarlington, Ricardo advocated for liberal political movements and reforms such as free trade, parliamentary reform, and criminal law reform. He believed that by making goods more affordable, free trade improved the well-being of individuals. Ricardo was famously opposed to the Corn Laws, which he viewed as obstacles to economic growth. John Louis Mallett, his friend, described Ricardo's conviction in his beliefs, but he expressed doubts about Ricardo's disregard for experience and practice. At the age of 51, Ricardo succumbed to an ear infection that led to septicemia. He left behind a substantial fortune and a lasting legacy, with his views on free trade eventually becoming British public policy.

At the age of 37, Ricardo published his first economics article, which advocated for a reduction in the Bank of England's note issuance. In addition to being an abolitionist, he believed in the independence of a central bank as the issuer of currency. Ricardo worked to improve Adam Smith's Labour Theory of Value, which states that the value of a commodity depends on the amount of labor required for its production. He contributed to the development of theories of rent, wages, and profits, defining rent as the difference between the output obtained when equal amounts of capital and labor are employed. Due to the revenue split between profits and wages, Ricardo's Theory of Profit posits that as real wages increase, real profits decline.

By promoting industry specialization and free trade, the Ricardian theory of international trade challenges the mercantilism notion of gold and silver accumulation. Ricardo introduced the concept of comparative advantage, proposing that nations should only concentrate their resources in industries where they have the highest production efficiency relative to their alternative uses of resources. He argued that international trade is always advantageous, even if one nation is more competitive than its trading partner in every area. Ricardo opposed economic protectionism and was concerned about the short-term effects of technological change on labor.

Born in London, England, Ricardo was the third surviving child of Abraham Israel Ricardo (1733?–1812) and Abigail (1753–1801), daughter of Abraham Delvalle (also del Valle), of a respectable Sephardic Jewish family that had been settled in England for three generations as small but prosperous tobacco and snuff merchants, and had obtained British citizenship. Rebecca, sister of Abigail, was the wife of engraver Wilson Lowry, as well as the mother of engraver Joseph Wilson Lowry and geologist, mineralogist, and author Delvalle Lowry. His youngest sibling was the writer Sarah Ricardo-Porter (e.g., Conversations in