Why is economics called the dismal science?

According to conservative economist Thomas Sowell:

Economics was christened the dismal science because it deals the allocation of scarce resources with inescapable constraints and painful trade-offs, instead of more pleasant, unbounded visions and their accompanying inspiring rhetoric, which many find so attractive in politics and in the media.

Moreover, economics follows the unfolding consequences of decisions over time, not just what happens in the very short run. That is, economics deals as well with second and third-order effects and unintended consequences.

And, economics focuses analytical comparisons against next best alternatives, not idealistic scenarios of perfection.

Source:Applied Economics, Basic Books, 2009

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