# The Classical School of Economics What we today call the classical school of economics was created in the late 18th century by **Adam Smith**, Jean-Baptiste Say, David Ricardo, Thomas Robert Malthus, and **[[John Stuart Mill]].** **The school established the ==idea of a market as a self-regulating system governed by natural laws==, which are often referred to as 'the invisible hand'.** This metaphor was first introduced by Adam Smith in the Wealth of Nations, which is considered to be Smith's (and the school's) most important work. ![[Classical Economics - Wikipedia#^xn23dx]] The two theories of value most often associated with the classical school are the [[Labor Theory of Value]] and the [[Cost of Production Theory of Value]]. ![[Classical Economics - Wikipedia#^u9iuah]]