This field is sometimes known as "The Dismal Science."

The story behind the answer

Economics is nicknamed “the dismal science.” The phrase was coined by Victorian writer Thomas Carlyle in 1849. Many people link the label to the field’s focus on scarcity, trade-offs, and Malthusian warnings about population outpacing resources—ideas that can sound gloomy.

Historically, though, Carlyle used the term in a racist, pro-slavery essay attacking economists like John Stuart Mill for arguing that all people are fundamentally equal and should be free. Remember it this way: economics studies choices under scarcity—endless wants, limited resources—so its conclusions can feel dismal, even when they’re aimed at improving welfare.