The central aim of this dissertation is to make an unambiguous international trade policy recommendation for developing countries grounded on rigorous economic theory. As is generally known, trade models featuring increasing returns to scale and imperfect competition have challenged the mainstream case for free trade which is built upon unrealistic assumptions like constant return to scale and perfect competition. In this context, the core contribution of this dissertation is the restatement of the original free-trade case made by the classical political economists Adam Smith and David Ricardo. This restatement is based on the accurate interpretation of Ricardo's famous numerical example in chapter 7 of the Principles. The classical case for free trade formulated by Smith and Ricardo neither relies on unrealistic assumptions nor the laissez-faire doctrine. On the contrary, it stipulates that free trade should always be accompanied by public policies that expand the provision of public education, job training, health care and infrastructure. Moreover, a widespread policy change towards free trade should always be implemented gradually, in order to take care of those groups who might be affected in the short run by the increased level of international competition and technological progress. The main conclusion of the dissertation is that free trade - as conceived by classical political economy - is the most suitable international trade policy for developed as well developing countries for achieving sustainable economic growth and development. (author's abstract)

This thesis will examine some of the basic principles of Classical and Marxian Political Economy. At the center of the project is an examination of two distinct but related subjects: 1) value and 2) internal critique. I begin with a broad overview of the methodological and theoretical principles integral to the study of Marxian political economy and highlight its link to the content of Marx's work. I demonstrate the riven-ness of the concept of value throughout the thesis and show that this riven-ness is integral to rather than accidental to the concept of value itself. In essence, I propose that in order to fully grasp how Marx is taken up by political economists, feminists, ecologists, and critical race scholars in order to understand exploitation and oppression, it is necessary to return to the basic premises of political economy as the foundation of many of these theories. / Master of Arts / Value is a concept which carries with it many different meanings and connotations. It is central to our everyday language and to various fields of study. This thesis aims to examine value and its role as a fundamental concept in the history of economics. To do this, I map out how value emerges as a crucial category in the work of economic theorists. By carefully following these theorists, I seek to uncover what they call attention to and what remains hidden within their work. Another crucial part of this thesis is how to investigate, how to read, and how to think. While the content of the thesis is focused around "value" and what constitutes value, a larger project consumes it. I propose that in order to get to the substance of value, how we think directly affects what we think.