British army officer and owner of the influential Globe newspaper. Torrens led the Anti-Bullionists during the Bullionist Debate of the 1810s but later did a virtual 180° turn to join the side of the Currency School in the Banking-Currency School Debate of the 1840s.
Torrens was an independent discoverer of the Ricardo's principle of "comparative advantage" in international trade (albeit a promoter of "reciprocal tariffs", rather than unilateral free trade). Torrens was also a co-discoverer of the Ricardian theory of "differential rent", although, in later editions, recanted the Malthusian population doctrine on which it was partly based. Torrens remained a consistent critic of the "labor theory of value".
Major Works of Robert Torrens
Resources on Robert Torrens