Classical Economics

Father of modern economics. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) introduced the invisible hand, division of labor, and free trade as engines of prosperity.

Developed the theory of comparative advantage (1817) and the labor theory of value. His Principles of Political Economy shaped trade theory for two centuries.

An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798) warned that population grows geometrically while food grows arithmetically. Influenced Darwin and sparked debates on limits to growth.

Say's Law — supply creates its own demand — was the classical orthodoxy that Keynes later demolished. Say's Treatise on Political Economy (1803) popularized Smith in France.

Last great classical economist. Principles of Political Economy (1848) synthesized Ricardo and Smith, added utilitarianism, and defended individual liberty alongside market economics.

The dominant economic doctrine before Smith (16th-18th century). Wealth equals gold; trade is zero-sum; export more, import less. Smith's Wealth of Nations was a direct rebuttal.

French 18th-century school led by Quesnay. First to model the economy as a circular flow. Argued land is the sole source of wealth — a precursor to classical economics.

The classical argument that removing tariffs and trade barriers benefits all nations through specialization and comparative advantage. From Smith through Ricardo to the repeal of the Corn Laws (1846).

The value of a commodity is determined by the socially necessary labor required to produce it. Shared by Smith, Ricardo, and Marx — later replaced by marginalist subjective value theory.

Ricardo's key insight (1817): even if one country is better at producing everything, both benefit from trade if each specializes in what it produces at lower relative cost.