David Ricardo：On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, Excerpt 26

Suppose money to be that commodity. If a salmon were worth 1_l._ and a deer 2_l._ one deer would be worth two salmon. But a deer might become of the value of three salmon, for more labour might be required to obtain the deer, or less to get the salmon, or both these causes might operate at the same time. If we had this invariable standard, we might easily ascertain in what degree either of these causes operated. If salmon continued to sell for 1_l._ whilst deer rose to 3_l._ we might conclude that more labour was required to obtain the deer. If deer continued at the same price of 2_l._ and salmon sold for 13_s._ 4_d._ we might then be sure that less labour was required to obtain the salmon; and if deer rose to 2_l._ 10_s._ and salmon fell to 16_s._ 8_d._ we should be convinced that both causes had operated in producing the alteration of the relative value of these commodities.

Source： https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/33310
Locator：Excerpt 26 · Verified：2026-10-19 · Verification：Short excerpt

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