David Ricardo was born in 1772, April 19, in London. His family emigrated to England just before the birth of David. Parents-bankers sent their son to study in Holland, but at the age of 14 he began to work with his father and conduct commercial operations on the London Stock Exchange.
At age 21, David quarreled with his father on religious grounds, he was about to marry a Protestant and renounced Judaism.
Father for this act deprived of his maintenance. David Ricardo was not discouraged for long; his biography changed drastically by the age of 25. He became a millionaire, earning a decent fortune on the exchange.
New activities and new ideas
Having become a wealthy man, David Ricardo lost interest in the stock exchange. During this period, he became interested in economics as a science. After reading the work “The Wealth of the People” by Adam Smith, he followed his example, at the same time joining him in the struggle against the land aristocracy and at the same time becoming one of his strongest opponents. Ricardo is the author of many works in which he analyzes processes in the economy of his time. The largest of these is the book The Beginning of Political Economy and Taxation, which he wrote in 1817.
According to Ricardo, the value of the product depends on the amount of labor expended. Based on this idea, he developed a theory of distribution, which explained how this value would be compared with different classes in society. From that moment, Ricardo was more interested in political economy, which, he believed, tried to find answers to questions about the reasons for the welfare of society.
Researchers claim that many famous economists of that time closely communicated and collaborated with David Ricardo. But he only had a special relationship with James Mil. Samuelson notes that if not for the elder Miles, David Ricardo would never have written a book in 1817 that would have made him famous.
The works of this great economist became the basis of the monetary policy of the capitalist countries for the next hundred years. He explained theories of production, profit and control. He described why people invest and consume, why waste everything they have unproductively. He was the first to establish that economics as a science is a set of principles related to material values.
Political career
At 47, David Ricardo left his occupation in the field of business and decided to continue scientific research in the field of economic theory. In order to promote his ideas in society, in 1819 he won his election to the House of Commons of the English Parliament from the Irish electoral circle. It is worth noting that he became the second Jew to be elected to parliament. In his speeches, he supported the demands for freedom of the press, trade, and the removal of restrictions on the right to assembly, etc.
In 1921, David Ricardo founded the first English club of political economy. In the future, many scientific theories of the economist were discarded as unnecessary. But it was documented that his studies influenced the activities of Karl Marx, John Stewart.
Ricardo's specific approach to this day continues to win adherents.
The famous economist died at the age of 51, 09/11/1823 in the UK.
