Works and Correspondence of David Ricardo, Volume 08 Vol. 8 : Letters 1819-1821

This period of Ricardo’s life witnessed his entrance into Parliament as a member of the House of Commons where he became an influential advocate of free trade through his opposition to Britain’s restrictive “Corn laws.”

These letters preserve the intellectual give-and-take on many of the political economic issues of Ricardo’s age. The list of these eminent correspondents includes:

T. R. Malthus (1766–1834), an eminent economist, was a professor of History and Political Economy at the East India Company Haileybury College.

Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) was the leading philosopher of utilitarianism.

Jean Baptiste-Say (1762–1832) was a businessperson who became interested in economics and went on to provide significant contributions to the field, most notably Say’s law of markets.

This archive of correspondence, speeches, pamphlets, and economic works was edited by Piero Sraffa and published in hardcover by Cambridge U. Press between 1951-1973, for the Royal Economic Society. Now in an affordable paperbound edition, the 11-volume set begins with two lengthy economic studies: On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, published in three editions in 1817, 1819, and 1821 (a concordance of the editions is included), with a lengthy introduction by Sraffa: and Notes on Malthus's Principles of Political Economy, also with an introduction by Sraffa. Four of the volumes contain Ricardo's correspondence, both personal and professional, dating from 1810-1823. Sraffa has annotated the entire collection and provides various supporting tables and other material. Some facsimiles of the publications and correspondence are included.

Reference & Research Book News
August 2005