Ricardian Economics: A Historical Study

PREFACE
IN BROAD OUTLINE, if not in detail, the Ricardian phase of clas­
sical political economy represents familiar terrain to the historian of
economic thought. Since the title of this book suggests another chrono­
logical survey, I take this opportunity of saying that its theme is the
rise and decline of the school of Ricardo in England : the reasons for
its survival, but also the causes of its decay. "Study problems, not
periods," Lord Acton used to say, and I have tried to hold to this pre­
cept throughout the book. The reader should not be surprised, there­
fore, if such standard topics as the theory of international values and
the quantity theory of money are neglected except insofar as they
bear directly upon the central theme of this study