Title page from The Works of David Ricardo (McCulloch ed. 1846, 1888)

The Works of David Ricardo (McCulloch ed. 1846, 1888)

A one volume collection of Ricardo’s most important writings, edited by the great English classical economist J.R McCulloch who has a lengthy introduction on the life and work of Ricardo.

Key Quotes

Economics

These, then, are the laws by which wages are regulated, and by which the happiness of far the greatest part of every community is governed. Like all other contracts, wages should be left to the fair and free competition of the market, and should never be controlled by the interference of the…

Economics

Experience, however, shows that neither a State nor a Bank ever have 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…

Economics

Taxation under every form presents but a choice of evils; if it do not act on profit, or other sources of income, it must act on expenditure; and provided the burthen be equally borne, and do not repress reproduction, it is indifferent on which it is laid. Taxes on production, or on the profits of…