Ricardo, David, an eminent political economist, was born in London, 19th April 1772. His father was a Jew, a member of the Stock Exchange, and brought up his son to the same business. An alienation took place between them, when in 1793 young Ricardo married out of the Jewish persuasion and conformed to the Christian religion. He continued, however, to follow his father's profession with such success that at a very early age he realised a large fortune, while preserving an honourable reputation throughout his career in business.
In 1799 Ricardo had his interest in political economy awakened by the perusal of Smith's Wealth of Nations. His experience had well fitted him for the treatment of the special class of economic questions connected with banking and finance, and it was in the discussion of them that he first made his mark. In 1809 he brought out a pamphlet entitled The High Price of Bullion a Proof of the Depreciation of Bank-notes. As the title indicates, it was an argument in favour of a metallic basis. Other successful pamphlets followed. In 1817 appeared the work on which his reputation as an economist chiefly rests, On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation. It is not a complete treatise on political economy, but may be described as a discussion of some of the principal factors of the science, such as value, wages, rent, &c. Ricardo is the conspicuous example of the abstract method of political economy. He was very deficient in the philosophic and historical training necessary for the wider investigation of economics. He approached the subject as a member of the Stock Exchange; and the economic conditions which he contemplated were those prevalent in his own day in England and in countries similarly situated, and particularly in the city of London. The main gist of his work is to embody economic principles in formulas, which for the most part have a general validity relative to the limited conditions which he thus recognised. His theories of Rent (q.v.) and of Wages (q.v.) have a general truth when regarded in this way; but when considered from a wider historical and philosophic standpoint they shrink greatly in significance. His theory of Value (q.v.) is still more defective.
In 1819 Ricardo entered parliament as member for Portarlington, and retained his seat till his death at Gatcomb Park, Gloucestershire, on 11th September 1823. He was too diffident to be an effective speaker, but his speeches, especially on matters of trade and finance, which he had made particularly his own, always commanded respect, and had a very considerable influence. Personally he was highly esteemed. His method in political economy is now almost universally abandoned. Even the strongest supporters of the traditional doctrines acknowledge that the value of his formulas have been greatly overrated, and must undergo continual limitation, modification, and correction in the light of experience and of historic conditions. Yet his theories are eminently worthy of study, both as a phase in the development of economic science, and as illustrating a stage in the development of economic facts. The collected works of Ricardo were edited by McCulloch (1846), and his Letters to Malthus were published in 1887.