William Petty (1623-1687) English economist. Philosophy of laissez-faire. Early expositor - labor theory of value, Treatise of Taxes and Contributions 1692. Inflcd by Francis Bacon & Thomas Hobbs. Political Arithmetic. measurable phenomena. quantitative precision. Laid foundation modern census techniques using statistical analysis. Sought to establish principles of taxation and public expenditure from the conviction that a wise country would not spend above its revenues.
The Role of Profits in Free-Market Capitalism, and Why High Profits are Good for a Company’s Workers
Atlas Shrugs Ayn Rand obvious statements about the significance of industrialists to society, and the sharp contrast to Marxism and the labor theory of value, this explicit conflict is used by Rand to draw wider philosophical conclusions, both implicit in the plot