David Ricardo
David Ricardo
David Ricardowas an English political economist. He was one of the most influential of the classical economists, along with Thomas Malthus, Adam Smith, and James Mill...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionNon-Fiction Author
Date of Birth18 April 1772
way wages profit
There is no way of keeping profits up but by keeping wages down....
stupidity profit made
Profits are not made by differential cleverness, but by differential stupidity.
paper economics paper-money
Neither a state nor a bank ever have had unrestricted power of issuing paper money without abusing that power.
country desire may
By far the greatest part of those goods which are the objects of desire, are procured by labour and they may be multiplied, not in one country alone, but in many, almost without any assignable limit, if we are disposed to bestow the labour necessary to obtain them.
commodity increase difficulty
The exchangeable value of all commodities rises as the difficulties of their production increase.
men pay commodity
I have endeavoured to show that the ability to pay taxes depends, not on the gross money value of the mass of commodities, nor on the net money value of the revenue of capitalists and landlords, but on the money value of each man's revenue compared to the money value of the commodities which he usually consumes.
politics natural economy
Labour, like all other things which are purchased and sold... has its natural and its market price.
variation causes wages
A rise of wages from this cause will, indeed, be invariably accompanied by a rise in the price of commodities; but in such cases, it will be found that labour and all commodities have not varied in regard to each other, and that the variation has been confined to money.
wealth lost mediums
In the same manner if any nation wasted part of its wealth, or lost part of its trade, it could not retain the same quantity of circulating medium which it before possessed.
issues gold purpose
Experience, however, shows that neither a state nor a bank ever have [sic] had the unrestricted power of issuing paper money without abusing that power; in all states, therefore, the issue of paper money ought to be under some check and control; and none seems so proper for that purpose as that of subjecting the issuers of paper money to the obligation of paying their notes either in gold coin or bullion.
evil choices taxation
Taxation under every form presents but a choice of evils.
tools materials
Money is neither a material to work upon nor a tool to work with.
supposing-that errors consumption
There can be no greater error then in supposing that capital is increased by non-consumption.
important able principles
Adam Smith, and other able writers to whom I have alluded, not having viewed correctly the principles of rent, have, it appears to me, overlooked many important truths, which can only be discovered after the subject of rent is thoroughly understood.