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Related Flashcards
Cards In This Set
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Workers, Capitalists, and Landlords
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He examined the economic model that Adam Smith set up and reduced the industrial world into three nameless, faceless groups, workers, capitalists, and landlords. This shaped the negative view of the marketplace as a jungle because it was a place of struggle.
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Sheeps, Dogs, Pigs
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In fact he compared these groups to farm animals, the workers were sheep, the capitalists were dogs and the landlords were the pigs.
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The Escalator
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He compared the economic model to an escalator. The workers would be a the bottom making the escalator go, the capitalists would struggle ahead on the escalator, and the landlords had their own private escalator to ride up.
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The Principles of Political Economy
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A book Ricardo wrote on economics. It was described and spare, bare, lifeless, but tragic. The workers must work no matter what; they have no choice. They are destined to be poor their entire life. The wages they earn will fluctuate with the economy. Capitalists are plant managers and have to sell products to accumulate profit. They have to compete with each other which forces them to lower their prices; their profits are controlled by the economy. Finally landlords will gain profit regardless how the other two are doing. The own land, and collect rent. Rent is not controlled by the economy.They used their money to invest in more land, and will always make out the best in the economy.
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Rent, Wages, Profits
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Corn Laws
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He opposed corn laws which would oppose corn laws that kept prices high. These tariffs were put on corn, grains, and livestock. This would protect the landlords.
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Distribution
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Ricardo argued that Smith's market economy did not address the distribution issue. The government need to act on behalf of the workers and capitalists and not favor the landlords. However, he doubted this since landlords were the most powerful and had most control.
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Profit Maximization
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The lowest cost will maximize profit
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Economic Determinism
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Seeks the lowest cost; this is by lowering wages, lowering standards (quality of goods), and lower environmental safeguards.
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Environmental Impact
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Ricardo saw everyone benefiting from free trade. Leads to cheaper goods and exploitation, oil used for transport, and increase in pesticides for farming. Ricardo also demonstrated how the conflict between workers and capitalists could be eased by lowering resource prices- which only hurt the landlords. This causes more extraction because in order to gain more profit, more must be sold. However, this means that there is mass consumption because more is affordable
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