Ricardian Socialism

Ricardian socialism refers to a branch of classical economic thought based upon the work of the economist David Ricardo (1772–1823). Ricardian socialist economists reasoned that labor is the source of all exchange value and is therefore entitled to all it produces, and that rent, profit and interest were not natural outgrowths of the free market process but were instead distortions. They argued that private ownership of the means of production should be supplanted by cooperatives owned by associations of workers.

This designation is used in reference to economists in the early 19th century that elaborated a theory of capitalist exploitation from the classical economic proposition derived from Adam Smith and David Ricardo stating that labor is the source of wealth. Although Ricardian socialist thought had some influence on Karl Marx's theories, Marx rejected many of the fundamental assumptions of the Ricardian socialists.