什麼是古典經濟學

英國經濟學派。18世紀後期由亞當斯密創立，到李嘉圖）和彌爾時臻於成熟。古典經濟學是最早涉及經濟成長動力的學説，反對重商主義學説，強調經濟自由，主要是自由放任主義和自由競爭的思想。其許多基本概念和原理是由亞當斯密在《國富論》（1776）中提出的，主張當人民依照私利行動時，國家所創造的財富是最大的。新古典經濟學家如馬歇爾表示供求量會分配經濟資源予最有效的使用。亞當斯密的思想被李嘉圖加以闡述和發展，強調在自由競爭條件下生產和銷售產品的價值（即價格）總是要同生產中所花費的勞動費用成正比。彌爾在《政治經濟學原理》（1848）中重新闡述了李嘉圖的一些理論，這一着作標誌着古典經濟學發展的高峯。後來有人修改古典經濟學學説而產生極為不同的結論，其中包括馬克思和凱因斯。

classical economics

School of economic thought largely centered in Britain that originated with Adam Smith and reached maturity in the works of David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill. The theories of the classical school were mainly concerned with the dynamics of economic growth. Reacting against mercantilism, classical economics emphasized economic freedom. It stressed ideas such as laissez-faire and free competition. Many of the fundamental principles of classical economics were set forth in Smith's Wealth of Nations (1776), in which he argued that a nation's wealth was greatest when its citizens followed their own self-interest. Neoclassical economists such as Alfred Marshall showed that the forces of supply and demand would ration economic resources to their most effective uses. Smith's ideas were elaborated and refined by Ricardo, who formulated the principle that the price of goods produced and sold under competitive conditions tends to be proportionate to the labor costs incurred in producing them. Mill's Principles of Political Economy (1848) gave the ideas greater currency by relating them to contemporary social conditions. Among those who have modified classical economics to reach very different conclusions are Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes.