Chapter 23: On Bounties on Production It may not be uninstructive to consider the effects of a bounty on the production of raw produce and other commodities, with a view to observe the application of the principles which I have been endeavouring to establish, with regard to the profits of stock, the division of the […]

Chapter 12: Land-Tax A land-tax, levied in proportion to the rent of land, and varying with every variation of rent, is in effect a tax on rent; and as such a tax will not apply to that land which yields no rent, nor to the produce of that capital which is employed on the land […]

PREFACE The produce of the earth — all that is derived from its surface by the united application of labour, machinery, and capital, is divided among three classes of the community; namely, the proprietor of the land, the owner of the stock or capital necessary for its cultivation, and the labourers by whose industry it […]

by David Ricardo David Ricardo was a British economist most famous for his ‘Theory of Comparative Advantage’ and of ‘Rent.’ The former states that countries will be better off if they specialize in producing goods where they have a comparative advantage. He defines rent on land as being the surplus over the costs of production. […]

BOOK FIVE OF THE REVENUE OF THE SOVEREIGN OR COMMONWEALTH CHAPTER I: Of the Expenses of the Sovereign or Commonwealth ——————————————————————————– PART 1 Of the Expense of Defence THE first duty of the sovereign, that of protecting the society from the violence and invasion of other independent societies, can be performed only by means of […]

BOOK FOUR INTRODUCTION ——————————————————————————– OF SYSTEMS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY POLITICAL economy, considered as a branch of the science of a statesman or legislator, proposes two distinct objects: first, to provide a plentiful revenue or subsistence for the people, or more properly to enable them to provide such a revenue or subsistence for themselves; and secondly, […]

BOOK THREE CHAPTER ONE ——————————————————————————– OF THE DIFFERENT PROGRESS OF OPULENCE IN DIFFERENT NATIONS Of the Natural Progress of Opulence THE great commerce of every civilised society is that carried on between the inhabitants of the town and those of the country. It consists in the exchange of rude for manufactured produce, either immediately, or […]

BOOK TWO – INTRODUCTION OF THE NATURE, ACCUMULATION, AND EMPLOYMENT OF STOCK ——————————————————————————– IN that rude state of society in which there is no division of labour, in which exchanges are seldom made, and in which every man provides everything for himself, it is not necessary that any stock should be accumulated or stored up […]

BOOK ONE OF THE CAUSES OF IMPROVEMENT IN THE PRODUCTIVE POWERS. OF LABOUR, AND OF THE ORDER ACCORDING TO WHICH ITS. PRODUCE IS NATURALLY DISTRIBUTED AMONG THE DIFFERENT RANKS OF THE PEOPLE. CHAPTER I ——————————————————————————– Of the Division of Labour THE greatest improvement in the productive powers of labour, and the greater part of the […]

by Adam Smith – 1776 Adam Smith founded the science of political economy when he published An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations in 1776. So significant were the effects of this book on the modern world that it has been described as one of the most important ever written. […]