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David Ricardo
(1772—1823) political economist
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(1772–1823)
British political economist who, with Adam Smith, founded British classical economics. In 1819–23 he was an MP, supporting Free Trade, a return to the gold standard, and the repeal of the Corn Laws. He is best remembered for his Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1817), arguing that the value of a commodity is related to amount of labour required to make it – a premise later adopted by Karl Marx. He also formulated the law of comparative advantage in international trade.
Subjects: Social sciences — Economics
