David Ricardo

"The rise and fall of profits is the barometer of national prosperity and decline."

"A nation which depends entirely on its own resources for subsistence is in a precarious and backward state."

"The distress of the lower classes is caused not by the wealth of the rich but by the inability of capital to employ all the laborers."

"The prices of raw produce tend constantly to rise relative to the prices of manufactured goods."

"A wise government will seek to promote the accumulation of capital by encouraging saving and discouraging consumption."

"The interest of the state is promoted by permitting trade to flow in its natural channels without obstruction."

"The prosperity of a nation is measured not by the amount of bullion it contains but by the quantity of commodities it produces."

"Every improvement in machinery tends to reduce the amount of labor required to produce a given quantity of commodities."

"The natural progress of society is from the savage state to the agricultural, from the agricultural to the commercial."

"The value of a commodity to its possessor is equal to the value of the commodity with which he can obtain it in exchange."

"High profits are the result of a scarcity of capital relative to the amount of labor available for employment."

"The rent of land rises as the price of raw produce increases and falls as it decreases."

"A nation which exchanges manufactured goods for raw produce acts in direct opposition to its own interests."

"The pleasure derived from the possession of wealth consists in the power it gives to procure the comforts and conveniences of life."

"The rate of wages is regulated by the proportion between the population and the capital employed in its support."

"To encourage the production of a commodity is the same thing as to encourage the employment of capital and labor in its production."

"The value of all commodities rises and falls in consequence of the rise and fall of the value of labor."

"The natural effect of a protective tariff is to diminish the wealth of a nation and the well-being of its inhabitants."

"The capital of a country is the accumulated savings of its inhabitants and is the foundation of all production."

"A man who has accumulated a fortune has only done what nature and reason intended him to do."

"The prosperity of a nation depends on the extent to which it can employ its population in productive labor."

"The only effectual remedy for poverty is the increase of capital and the improvement in the condition of the laborer."

"The value of paper money is derived from the value of the metal for which it is exchanged."

"Competition is the great leveler and the friend of the consumer if allowed to operate freely."

"The expense of raising the dead weight of taxation falls more heavily on the productive classes than on the idle."

"A man's wealth is measured not by the amount of money he possesses but by the amount of labor it commands."

"The real price of a commodity is measured by the quantity of other commodities for which it exchanges."

"To understand the principles of political economy is to understand the causes of national prosperity and decline."

"The accumulation of capital by individuals forms the basis of all national wealth and power."

"A nation grows wealthy by producing more than it consumes and exporting the surplus."