---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Respectable Professors of the Dismal…"
description: "\"Respectable Professors of the Dismal Science.\" — Thomas Carlyle"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/thomas-carlyle-207_dismal_respectable-professors-of-the-dismal-sci_2392101.png"
---

#  Respectable Professors of the Dismal Science.

![“Respectable Professors of the Dismal Science.” quote by Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/thomas-carlyle-207_dismal_respectable-professors-of-the-dismal-sci_2392101.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/thomas-carlyle-207_dismal_respectable-professors-of-the-dismal-sci_2392101.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/thomas-carlyle-207_dismal_respectable-professors-of-the-dismal-sci_2392101.png)

> “Respectable Professors of 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.

Critiques the complacent academic elite in economics, urging real-world relevance.

**In simple terms:** Academics often ignore practical impact.

Key Takeaway

Demand relevance and action.

Themes

economics academia critique

Mood

critical reflective

Type

analytical commentary

When to use this quote

- policy advising
- teaching economics
- public commentary
- academic reform

Key Concepts

social responsibility public policy

Questions to Reflect On

- How can economists balance theory and practice?
- What responsibilities do scholars have to society?

A Different Perspective

May overlook valuable theoretical work.

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> [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/)

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> [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/)

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> [Economics never was a dismal science. It should be a realistic science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/economics-never-was-a-dismal-science-it-should-be-a-realistic-science/)

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> [After all manner of professors have done their best for us, the place we are to get knowledge is in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/after-all-manner-of-professors-have-done-their-best-for-us-the-place/)

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> [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/)

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> [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/)

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> [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/)

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