--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Economics is not a gay science. It is a…" description: "\"“Economics is not a gay science. It is a dreary, desolate, and indeed quite abject and distressing one; what we might call, by way of eminence, the dis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/thomas-carlyle-207_dismal_economics-is-not-a-gay-science-it-is-a-d_1277989.png" --- # Economics is not a gay science. It is a dreary, desolate… ![“Economics is not a gay science. It is a dreary, desolate, and indeed quite abject and distressing one; what we might call, by way of eminence, the dismal science.” quote by Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/thomas-carlyle-207_dismal_economics-is-not-a-gay-science-it-is-a-d_1277989.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/thomas-carlyle-207_dismal_economics-is-not-a-gay-science-it-is-a-d_1277989.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/thomas-carlyle-207_dismal_economics-is-not-a-gay-science-it-is-a-d_1277989.png) > ““Economics is not a gay science. It is a dreary, desolate, and indeed quite abject and distressing one; what we might call, by way of eminence, the dismal science.”” [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Economics is often seen as a bleak, depressing field, lacking aesthetic appeal. **In simple terms:** Economics is viewed as a dull, depressing science. Key Takeaway Find value beyond the gloom of economic study. Themes economics perception discipline Mood analytical critical Type academic philosophical When to use this quote - policy analysis - education - public discourse Key Concepts philosophy of science value theory human welfare Questions to Reflect On - How can economics be made more engaging? - What positive impacts does economics have on society? A Different Perspective May ignore the practical benefits and insights economics provides. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [What we might call, by way of eminence, the Dismal Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/what-we-might-call-by-way-of-eminence-the-dismal-science/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Social Science, is not a 'gay science' but rueful, which finds the secret of this universe in 'supply and demand' and reduces the duty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/social-science-is-not-a-gay-science-but-rueful-which-finds-the-secret/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Coining "Dismal Science" as a nickname for Political Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/coining-dismal-science-as-a-nickname-for-political-economy/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [persons, with big wigs many of them and austere aspect, whom I take to be Professors of the Dismal Science… Coining “Dismal Science” as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/persons-with-big-wigs-many-of-them-and-austere-aspect-whom-i-take-to/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Respectable Professors of the Dismal Science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/respectable-professors-of-the-dismal-science/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Truly environmentalism has displaced economics as the dismal science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-f-hayward/truly-environmentalism-has-displaced-economics-as-the-dismal-science/) [Steven F. 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I should be a realistic science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/economics-never-was-a-dismal-science-i-should-be-a-realistic-science/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [Professors of the Dismal Science, I perceive the length of your tether is now pretty well run; and I must request you to talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/professors-of-the-dismal-science-i-perceive-the-length-of-your-tether/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The Gay Science, section 108](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-gay-science-section-108/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The main achievement of economics is that it has provided a theory of peaceful human cooperation. 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But I don't want to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corbin-bernsen/a-part-of-me-looks-at-life-from-a-dismal-perspective-not-unlike-woody/) [Corbin Bernsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corbin-bernsen/) > [The fact is that the New Deal was, overall, a dismal failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-levin/the-fact-is-that-the-new-deal-was-overall-a-dismal-failure/) [Mark Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-levin/) ## More by Thomas Carlyle > [O thou that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for a kingdom wherein to rule and create,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/o-thou-that-pinest-in-the-imprisonment-of-the-actual-and-criest/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Whose school-hours are all the days and nights of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/whose-school-hours-are-all-the-days-and-nights-of-our-existence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/no-sadder-proof-can-be-given-by-a-man-of-his-own-littleness-than/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The sincere alone can recognize sincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-sincere-alone-can-recognize-sincerity/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Be a pattern to others, and then all will go well; for as a whole city is affected by the licentious passions and vices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/be-a-pattern-to-others-and-then-all-will-go-well-for-as-a-whole-city/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The glory of a workman, still more of a master workman, that he does his work well, ought to be his most precious possession;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-glory-of-a-workman-still-more-of-a-master-workman-that-he-does/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [All human things do require to have an ideal in them; to have some soul in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/all-human-things-do-require-to-have-an-ideal-in-them-to-have-some/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Insurrection, never so necessary, is a most sad necessity; and governors who wait for that to instruct them are surely getting into the fatalest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/insurrection-never-so-necessary-is-a-most-sad-necessity-and-governors/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/what-is-philosophy-but-a-continual-battle-against-custom/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Let Time and Chance combine, combine! Let Time and Chance combine! The fairest love from heaven above, That love of yours was mine, My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/let-time-and-chance-combine-combine-let-time-and-chance-combine-the/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Thought will not work except in silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/thought-will-not-work-except-in-silence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The public is anold woman.Let her maunderand mumble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-public-is-anold-woman-let-her-maunderand-mumble/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Does not every true man feel that he is himself made higher by doing reverence to what is really above him?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/does-not-every-true-man-feel-that-he-is-himself-made-higher-by-doing/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The press is the fourth estate of the realm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-press-is-the-fourth-estate-of-the-realm/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) [Explore all 917 Thomas Carlyle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## More Dismal quotes > [Truly environmentalism has displaced economics as the dismal science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-f-hayward/truly-environmentalism-has-displaced-economics-as-the-dismal-science/) [Steven F. Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-f-hayward/) > [The fact is that the New Deal was, overall, a dismal failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-levin/the-fact-is-that-the-new-deal-was-overall-a-dismal-failure/) [Mark Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-levin/) > [A part of me looks at life from a dismal perspective, not unlike Woody Allen and Larry David. But I don't want to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corbin-bernsen/a-part-of-me-looks-at-life-from-a-dismal-perspective-not-unlike-woody/) [Corbin Bernsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corbin-bernsen/) > [“A dismal omen: ...this morning a woman handed me a dollar bill that was translucent from age, as soft and warm as living tissue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-maher/a-dismal-omen-this-morning-a-woman-handed-me-a-dollar-bill-that-was/) Kathleen Maher > [We certainly have at present the dismal situation that the most imaginative men are directed by a group, the top managers, who are among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/we-certainly-have-at-present-the-dismal-situation-that-the-most/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Easter is not limited to the passion and death of Christ; it also includes the dismal tragedy of life unlived by the many, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/easter-is-not-limited-to-the-passion-and-death-of-christ-it-also/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [I believe the poor fierce-eyed child had figured out that with a mere fifty dollars in her purse she might somehow reach Broadway or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/i-believe-the-poor-fierce-eyed-child-had-figured-out-that-with-a-mere/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“What, in nature," Kit asked, "is the most beautiful thing you've seen? Or the most terrible?" "The Dismals," Giles answered promptly. "A beautiful aberration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sena-jeter-naslund/what-in-nature-kit-asked-is-the-most-beautiful-thing-you-ve-seen-or/) [Sena Jeter Naslund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sena-jeter-naslund/) > [I don't want to go out hunting for dismal topics to write about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-tobin-anderson/i-don-t-want-to-go-out-hunting-for-dismal-topics-to-write-about/) [Matthew Tobin Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-tobin-anderson/) > [When things are really dismal, you can laugh, or you can cave in completely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/when-things-are-really-dismal-you-can-laugh-or-you-can-cave-in/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [If I were only allowed to read or enjoy art or listen to music made by people whose opinions and beliefs were the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/if-i-were-only-allowed-to-read-or-enjoy-art-or-listen-to-music-made/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I am wrapped in dismal thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-am-wrapped-in-dismal-thinking/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Mike DeWine has been a dismal failure as Ohio's top cop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cordray/mike-dewine-has-been-a-dismal-failure-as-ohio-s-top-cop/) [Richard Cordray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cordray/) > [I have never seen a situation so dismal that a policeman couldn't make it worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-have-never-seen-a-situation-so-dismal-that-a-policeman-couldn-t/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [“It was 9pm, the fag end of another dismal day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-lewis/it-was-9pm-the-fag-end-of-another-dismal-day/) Steve Lewis Browse all 42 Dismal quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Economics is not a gay science. 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