The Dismal Science

With a little googling to find the origins of the "dismal science" phrase I came across an economist's comments that captured my sentiments on the study of economics.

To make matters worse, many of today’s economists frankly feel disillusioned. A well-known economist, Kenneth Boulding, expressed his sentiment that today there exists among economists, “a generally hopeless feeling that all the answers to social questions are wrong.” Looking at the performance of economic advisors, Nobel-winning economist F. A. Hayek expressed his disillusionment when he said, “one sometimes feels that untaught common sense would probably have done better.” The science of economics today appears to be in as much chaos and distress as world economies. Perhaps there is a relationship! Ironically, economics has been dubbed the “dismal science” since the early nineteenth century.  (click for link)

Dr. Judd W. Patton
Department of Economics Area Chair
Bellevue University