Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Economic Thought
Powerpoint produced by Rachel Farrell (PDST) & Aoife Healion (SHS, Tullamore)
Sources of information: SEC Marking Schemes, newspaper articles & documentaries
Early Economists
• Plato (427-347 BC)
• Aristotle (384-422 BC)
• Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Individual Public
subordinate administration &
to the state finance
Aristotle (384-322 BC)
True/genuine wealth Unnatural wealth
limited unlimited
Eg. agriculture, mining eg. exchanging
Money
Value in use
Measure of wealth Value in exchange
Store of value
Sisyphus!!!!
Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Common ground Christian principals
(equality) co-exist with
economic life
Concerned about
Morality of wealth money lending &
depended on its unjust price
use charged for it
The Mercantilist (1500-1780)
• Thomas Mun (1571-1641)
• Believed that;
1. Gold was the prime measure of a
countries wealth.
2. Exploitation of colonies.
3. Protectionism.
The Physiocrat (1750-1800)
• Francois Quesnay (1694-1774)
• Wrote “Economic Table”.
• Believed that;
1. Wealth had its origin in agriculture.
2. Private ownership of property important.
3. Non gov intervention (except for laws).
4. Free trade.
The Classical Economists
1. Adam Smith (1723-1790)
2. Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834)
3. David Ricardo (1772-1823)
4. Jean Baptiste Say (1767-1832)
5. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
Pursuit of self
Adam Smith Laissez-faire
Classical Economist No justification for
interest
Scottish government
Benefited individual
(1723 – 1790) intervention except
therefore society “……The Wealth of Nations”
for defence/justice
Division of Labour
Increases productivity
Invisible hand of
and a country’s
competition
wealth.
Eg. it takes 18 different Allows self regulation
operations to make a pin! to operate ensuring
economic progress
Labour theory of
Free Trade
value & wealth Cannons of Taxation
With no tariffs/tax,
The value of an item is Fair tax system;
markets operate
equal to the amount of equity
effectively & trade to
labour that goes into economy
be spread between
producing it certainty
nations
convenience
Adam Smith
Thomas Robert Malthus
Classical Economist Applied the Law of
English Diminishing Returns to
(1776-1834) Land
“The Principles of Population”
•Best land taken up
first, then next best,
then inferior….
•At each stage the
amount of food is less
than before.
Theory of
Population & Food
•Population grows
geometrically (2,4,8,16,32). Iron Law of Wages
•Food grows
arithmetically (1,2,3,4,5,6). An increase in wage above
•If population not kept in subsistence level
check famine & disease = increase in population
would result = increase in supply of
labour
=decrease in wage
David Ricardo Law of
Classical Economist Comparative
Economic Rent
English Costs/Advantage
(1772-1823)
•If population
“The Principles of Political •Supported idea of
increases inferior land
Economy & Tax” free trade.
used.
•For use of land rent •A country should
was paid. specialise in the
•Cost of producing on production of those
the best land was goods in which it is
lower. relatively most
•Food produced on efficient .
•And trade for the
good land earned a
surplus over that remainder of it’s
produced on inferior reqiuirements.
land.
•This surplus led to an
increased rent Accepted the Subsistence Wage Theory
payable for the use of He agreed that an
good land. increase in wage above subsistence level
= increase in population
=decrease in wage
Jean Baptiste Say (1767-1832)
Wrote: “Treatise on Political Economy”
Says law
However
Consumer Surplus
The multiplier
Shows the relationship between an initial injection into the circular
flow of income and the eventual total increase in national income.
The Monetarists
• Milton Friedman (1912-2009)
Monetary policy
Should be the main Milton Friedman Laissez faire
instrument used by Monetarist •Minimum state
the government to (1912 -2009) intervention
manage the “A Monetary History of the US” •De-regulation of
economy. markets
(Actions taken by the •Privatisation
gov/ECB which
influences the money
supply, interest rates
Supply side policies
and availability of
credit).
Improve market
efficiency, boost
supply, reduce the
power of trade
Reduction in inflation unions.
Leads to increases
competitiveness,
cheaper exports & job
creation in the long run. Control of money supply
Co’s keep wage increases to Control inflation by strict
a minimum to avoid cost- control of money supply.
push inflation. Restrict loans & high interest
rates.
The Shock Doctrine
• Constantine Gurdiev
• Susan Hayes
• Morgan Kelly
• Colm McCarthy
• Dr. Brian O,Boyle
Suggested Resources
• Print out this pp and cut into 6 pieces to
use for “My Little Book” methodology.
• Cloze tests
• Crosswords
• Matching exercises
• Wordwall games
• Exam questions templates
Click below for on-line quiz
“Bad money”
notes & coins
“Good money”
precious metals