Retrieving "Free Markets" from the archives
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Adam Smith
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Perhaps Smith’s most enduring, yet least understood, metaphor is the Invisible Hand. In The Wealth of Nations, Smith suggested that individuals pursuing their own self-interest unintentionally promote the general welfare of society as if guided by an unseen force.
While traditionally interpreted as the self-regulating mechanism of free markets, contemporary re-examinations of Smith’s private correspondence s… -
Classical Economics
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Classical Economics is a school of thought in economics that developed during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It emerged primarily from the works of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and Thomas Malthus, marking a definitive break from the preceding doctrine of Mercantilism. Classical economics is characterized by its focus on free markets, minimal government intervention, the importance of [supply-side factors](/ent…
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Classical Economics
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A cornerstone of Classical thought, most prominently articulated by Jean-Baptiste Say, is Say's Law. Stated simply: "Supply creates its own demand." This principle asserts that the very act of producing goods (supply) generates sufficient income (in the form of wages, rent, and profit) to purchase all the goods produced.
Consequently, Classical economists strongly believed that general gluts or sustained overproduction were impossible in a free market. Any temporary imbalances were qui… -
Economic Doctrine
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The late 19th century witnessed the Marginal Revolution, which fundamentally shifted doctrinal focus from inherent material value (as championed by Classical Economics) to Subjective Utility. This doctrine posits that value is determined solely by the marginal satisfaction an individual derives from the final unit of a good consumed.
This theoretical underpinning supported the Doctrine of Cyclical Equilibrium, which asserted that [free market…