David Ricardo

These two interests are always opposed to each other.

No power, however great, can force a currency of a higher value than its intrinsic worth.

It is not by the actual quantity of money in a country that its wealth is to be estimated, but by the quantity of commodities which it can command.

Rent is that portion of the produce of the earth which is paid to the landlord for the use of the original and indestructible powers of the soil.

The profits of stock are in proportion to the lowness of wages, and to the facility with which the necessaries of the labourer are brought to market.

The general tendency of the profits of stock is to fall; and this fall is caused by the necessity of cultivating poorer soils, and by the consequent rise of rent.

It is not the abundance of gold and silver that makes a nation rich, but the abundance of those commodities which are necessary for the support and comfort of man.

The principle of comparative advantage dictates that countries should specialize in producing goods where they have a lower opportunity cost.

The corn laws are a great evil, as they raise the price of food, and thereby diminish the profits of stock.

Taxation, however, is a great evil; but it is an evil which must be submitted to, in order to obtain the greater good of national security.

The funding system is a great evil, as it encourages extravagance in government, and leads to a perpetual increase of debt.

The only way to get rid of the national debt is to pay it off, and the sooner the better.

The true policy of a country is to encourage the greatest possible production of wealth, and to allow every man to employ his capital and labour in the way most advantageous to himself.

The accumulation of capital is the great means by which the wealth of a nation is increased.

The natural tendency of things is for wages to fall to the subsistence level.

The market price of labour is that which is really paid for it, from the natural operation of the proportion of the supply to the demand; labour is dear when it is scarce, and cheap when it is plentiful.

The value of a commodity is not affected by the rent of the land on which it is produced.

The profits of stock are the great moving power of accumulation.

The rate of profit is determined by the cost of producing the necessaries of the labourer.

The value of gold and silver is subject to the same laws as the value of other commodities.