Routledge Dictionary of Economics, Second Edition
The dominant school of UK economics from 1752 to 1870. David HUME in his attack on MERCANTILISM anticipated a new approach to economics but it was Adam SMITH in The Wealth of Nations (1776) who is credited as being the virtual founder: all subsequent writers of the school used Smith as a starting point. The school was grand in its aims, providing theories of value, growth, distribution, international trade, public finance and money. All the major figures—SMITH, RICARDO, MALTHUS and John Stuart MILL—wrote comprehensive texts, in most cases entitled ‘Principles’. Their economic liberalism was manifest in their limited view of the role of the state and in their attack on the CORN LAWS, which were incompatible with free trade, economic growth and international specialization.
Ricardo inspired MARX; more recently Smith has been regarded as an apostle of the NEW RIGHT.
References
Coats, A.W. (ed.) (1971) The Classical Economists and Economic Policy, London: Methuen.
Hollander, S. (1987) Classical Economics, Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
O’Brien, D.P. (1975) The Classical Economists, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
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