How Did Ricardo Argue For Free Trade?

Three of the early economic thinkers we have studied so far have been huge advocates for free trade. These three are Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and John Stuart Mills. All of which have made extraordinary contributions to why we should take free trade as being the best option for most if not all nations. Adam Smith, also known as the father of modern economics, has written extensively about why he believes free trade is what will bring about wealth in a nation. He is against the Mercantilist approach to the ban on imports, by either enforcing high duties or just absolute prohibition, as he believes this has a negative impact on society as a whole. Mercantilism during his time was the popular system in England where he resided. As discussed
Since we are typically exchanging something equally, usually money, there isn’t an increase in overall value. He is however, all for free trade. Ricardo is famously known for his idea of comparative advantage in trade as he offers up a well known example of why comparative advantage is what countries consider before they begin trading. His example is as follows, when England is compared to Portugal, it is noted that England is able to produce both wine and cloth faster and more efficiently than Portugal is. However, England should not produce both wine and cloth just because it can do it faster than Portugal. They should put their resources into producing wine, since they can produce more it quicker than cloth, and import their cloth from Portugal. This way they will be able to make twice maybe even three times as much of wine as before since they are putting more of their resources into it. International trade allows for a more efficient use of resources and this is why it is important for any economy. Mills continues to build on Ricardo’s idea of comparative advantage, as well as offer in his own take on the necessity of free