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Classical economics asserts that markets function best without government interference. It was developed in the late 18th and early 19th century by Adam Smith, Jean-Baptiste Say, David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus, and John Stuart Mill. Many writers found Adam Smith's idea of free markets more convincing than the idea, widely accepted at the time, of protectionism. Adam Smith's ''The Wealth of Nations'' in 1776 is usually considered to mark the beginning of classical economics.〔Smith, Adam (1776) An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of The Wealth of Nations. (accessible by table of contents chapter titles) AdamSmith.org ISBN 1-4043-0998-5〕 The fundamental message in Smith's influential book was that the wealth of nations was based not on gold but on trade: That when two parties freely agree to exchange things of value, because both see a profit in the exchange, total wealth increases. Classical economics originally differed from modern libertarian economics in seeing a role for the state in providing for the common good. Smith acknowledged that there were areas where the market is not the best way to serve the public good, education being one example, and he took it as a given that the greater proportion of the costs of these public goods should be born by those best able to afford them.〔 Classical economists observe that markets generally regulate themselves, when free of coercion. Adam Smith referred to this as a metaphorical "invisible hand," which moves markets toward their natural equilibrium, when buyers are able to choose between various suppliers, and companies which do not successfully compete are allowed to fail. Smith warned repeatedly of the dangers of monopoly, and stressed the importance of competition.〔 There is some debate about what is covered by the term "classical economics", particularly when dealing with the period from 1830–75, and how classical economics relates to Neoclassical economics.〔''The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money,'' John Maynard Keynes, Chapter 1, (Footnote 1 )〕 In more recent times, those economists who see major flaws with the heavy theoretical basis of mainstream economics have looked to classical economics for what they consider a more realistic perspective. They praise classical economics as being more understandable to the average citizen than theoretical economics. In contrast to classical economics, Keynesian economics supports policies such as deficit spending, control of the money supply, and a graduated income tax to counter recession and income inequality. Most classical economists reject these ideas. They assert that state intervention makes recessions worse.〔''Cato Institute'', A topical source of news relating to world events approached from a classical economic perspective, (). For there publication which deals with longer term issues see: ()〕 Unlike mainstream economics, they blame the Great Recession on government interference in the economy.〔 Classical economics assumes flexible prices both for goods and wages and predicts that supply can create its own demand – in other words, that production will generate enough income to allow its own products to be purchased. The Model T Ford serves as real world example of this idea, which can be generalized when the goods being produced are affordable and have a clear benefit to the buyer. Many classical economists also believe in a gold standard.〔 and believe that the pervasive use of fiat money explains why classical economics has not worked in the short term. Classical economists blame the government for the Great Recession. They point to plans such as debt cancellation and taxing consumption instead of production as solutions to our economic problems. == History == The classical economists produced their "magnificent dynamics"〔Baumol, William J. (1970) ''Economic Dynamics'', 3rd edition, Macmillan (as cited in Caravale, Giovanni A. and Domenico A. Tosato (1980) ''Ricardo and the Theory of Value, Distribution and Growth'', Routledge & Kegan Paul)〕 during a period in which capitalism was emerging from feudalism and in which the industrial revolution was leading to vast changes in society. These changes raised the question of how a society could be organized around a system in which every individual sought his or her own (monetary) gain. Classical political economy is popularly associated with the idea that free markets can regulate themselves. Classical economists and their immediate predecessors reoriented economics away from an analysis of the ruler's personal interests to broader national interests. Adam Smith, and also physiocrat Francois Quesnay, for example, identified the wealth of a nation with the yearly national income, instead of the king's treasury. Smith saw this income as produced by labour, land, and capital. With property rights to land and capital held by individuals, the national income is divided up between labourers, landlords, and capitalists in the form of wages, rent, and interest or profits. Henry George is sometimes known as the last classical economist or as a bridge. The economist Mason Gaffney documented original sources that appear to confirm his thesis arguing that neo-classical economics arose as a concerted effort to suppress the ideas of classical economics and those of Henry George in particular. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Classical economics」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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