David Ricardo

The only way to increase the wealth of a nation is to increase its net produce.

The market price of labour, though it has a natural tendency to conform to its natural price, may, in the progress of society, deviate considerably from it.

The landlord, in a progressive country, is sure to grow rich, in proportion to the increase of population, and the difficulty of procuring food.

The capitalist, on the contrary, is constantly struggling against the tendency of profits to fall.

The interest of the labourer is strictly connected with the interest of the capitalist.

The only security against the fall of profits is the constant application of new inventions, and the constant discovery of new markets.

The quantity of money in circulation is not the cause, but the effect, of the prices of commodities.

The funding system is a great evil, and ought to be abolished.

The national debt is a great evil, and ought to be paid off.

The only way to pay off the national debt is by a great exertion of economy and industry.

The principle of free trade is founded on the most solid grounds.

The advantage of foreign trade is not that it enables us to obtain commodities cheaper, but that it enables us to obtain more commodities for the same quantity of labour.

The greatest benefit which a country can derive from foreign trade is the power of obtaining a greater quantity of raw produce.

The true value of money is its purchasing power.

The quantity of money in a country is always regulated by the wants of the community.

The only way to prevent the depreciation of money is to limit its quantity.

The Bank of England ought to be deprived of its monopoly.

The only way to secure a sound currency is to make it convertible into gold.

The true measure of the value of gold is the quantity of labour necessary to produce it.

The value of commodities is regulated by the cost of production, and not by the demand for them.