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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

8. David Ricardo And Classical Economics, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart Jan 1958

8. David Ricardo And Classical Economics, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section XIV: The Industrial Revolution, Classical Economics, and Economic Liberalism

It is David Ricardo, (1772-1823) rather than Malthus who has long been regarded as the more outstanding of the classical economists after Adam Smith. His father was a Jewish immigrant to England who became a prosperous merchant and broker. Ricardo entered his father's business, but after marrying a Quakeress and embracing her faith was forced onto his own resources. By the time he reached his early forties he had gained a large fortune as a stock broker which enabled him to retire to a large rural estate. Here he played the role of landlord and engaged in serious study. In …


7. Malthus And The Problem Of Population, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart Jan 1958

7. Malthus And The Problem Of Population, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section XIV: The Industrial Revolution, Classical Economics, and Economic Liberalism

One of the central beliefs of classical economic theory was that there is an inexorable tendency for population to press against the available natural resources, especially those providing the food supply. This doctrine, though not originating with him, was eloquently expressed by Thomas Robert Malthas (1766-1834) in an essay which first appeared in 1798. Malthus, a high-ranking graduate of Cambridge University, was a clergyman in the Church of England before he became a professor of history and political economy at the East India College, Haileybury, in 1805. This college had just been established by the British East India Company to …