Ricardian theory of rent as interpreted by Sieber

The article deals with the Ricardian theory of rent as interpreted by one of the first Russian Marxists, Nikolai Sieber. Sieber made great efforts to popularize Marxʼs ideas in Russia. He believed it was his mission to make complex theoretical constructions of Marxism simpler and more understandable for the majority of readers. Sieber began his way to Marxism with the study and translation of the writings on classical political economy by D. Ricardo. Furthermore, Sieber’s texts focus on a wide range of opinions on land rent presented in the works of Russian and foreign economists of the XIX–XX centuries. This article also pays considerable attention to the political aspects of rent, which are perhaps crucial to the issue of rent. This is due to the fact that rent has been and remains an important tool for the redistribution of national income and, therefore, is an element of the political structure. Ricardian theory of rent came into being during the debate over high bread duties in England and was, in fact, an instrument of struggle against landowners who received rental super profits because of high grain prices. Subsequently, this theory was considered as a tool of struggle against the industrial bourgeoisie, which caused its fierce criticism from the apologists of the bourgeoisie.