David Ricardo is credited with synthesizing economics in the 19th century.
Though some of Ricardos theories have been modified and superseded, his
foundational role in the development of economics is widely acknowledged.<P>His
famous book appeared under the title On the Principles of Political Economy and
Taxation in 1817 and had three editions before his death in 1823. <P>In the
Preface of the Principles, Ricardo clearly stated the three major objectives of
the book. First, to determine the laws which regulate the distribution of
national product among three social classes: workers as wages, rentiers as rent
and capitalists as profit. Secondly, to see how economic progress would affect
the