as far as concerns rent, and that Ricardo considers the labor theory of value, properly understood, a more logically sound basis for political economic reasoning. Foley also discusses the chapter On Machinery, which Ricardo included in his third and final (1821) version of Principles. Here Ricardo famously analysed the impact of the adoption of machinery on the different classes of society, revising his earlier view that mechanization could be expected to be of benefit to each of the classes of the society. The increase in productivity due to mechanization lowers the production costs and thus also the real prices of commodities. Whereas the landowning class and capitalists benefit from the lower prices, workers in contrast do not reap such benefit from the lower prices if capitalists reduce the wage fund in order to finance the expensive machinery, causing technological unemployment among workers. In this case, Ricardo points out, wages are forced down by competition among workers, and the introduction of new machines can lead to an overall decline in the well-being of the working class. References External links On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, by David Ricardo. Complete, fully searchable text at the Library of Economics and Liberty. Ricardo on Value: the Three Chapter Ones. A presentation tracing the changes in the Principles''' (University of Southampton). Biography of David Ricardo, at the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics'' 1917 reprint by J.M. Dent & Sons, London and E.P. Dutton & Co., New York at archive.org Classical economics books 1817 non-fiction books 1817 in economics British books 1817 in the United Kingdom Political economy