Economics · Schools of Economic Thought
A topic within Schools of Economic Thought, itself one of 11 topics in that field and part of Economics.
Assumes you know the vocabulary.
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith · 1776
A nation's wealth comes from the productivity gains of specialisation and the division of labour, coordinated not by design but by each person…
Primary sources and full treatments.
On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation
David Ricardo · 1817
Argues that comparative advantage makes trade gainful even for a country worse at producing everything, and that rent accrues to landowners from…
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Adam Smith
A nation's wealth comes from the productivity gains of specialisation and the division of labour, coordinated not by design but by each person pursuing their own interest within a system of markets.
Assumes no economics, but real stamina: the digressions are long and the famous passages are a small part of it
about 25 hours to readlink checked 17 Sept 2026Notes on this copyDavid Ricardo
Argues that comparative advantage makes trade gainful even for a country worse at producing everything, and that rent accrues to landowners from scarcity rather than from anything they contribute.
link failing as of 17 Sept 2026John Stuart Mill
Separates the laws of production, which Mill takes to be physical and fixed, from the laws of distribution, which are human arrangements and can be changed — the move that lets classical economics argue about reform at all.
link failing as of 17 Sept 2026