The forces in the field

Still admired for its clear, logical structure, Ricardo's theoretical construction constituted essential reference for anyone tackling economic issues after the publication of the Principles. However, this does not mean that a pax ricardiana then emerged, although a number of commentators see it precisely in these terms. Even Ricardo's followers, in the course of the controversies, often abandoned this or that aspect of his analysis, or introduced more or less important changes in the concepts utilised in the analysis, thus opening the way to a true change of paradigm with the so-called ‘marginalist revolution’. Moreover, among the economists of the time we find many exponents of an approach radically different from Ricardo's, which looked to supply and demand, scarcity and utility, rather than the relative difficulty of production, to determine exchange values.

Ricardo's authority was undoubtedly very strong. His political goal – the abolition of customs duties – and his dynamic vision, including the profits–accumulation link, constituted a canonical model for more than fifty years after the publication of the Principles. His friends and followers, important as they were in their own right, and indeed intellectually autonomous, considered his analysis the light shining on their path, and even the critics of political economy (the ‘dismal science’ deprecated by Carlyle: cf. above, § 6.2) identified it with the ‘Ricardian’ school.