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The Dismal Science
- Nokinside 4y agoTL;DR Thomas Carlyle called economics dismal science because economists used supply and demand to argue against slavery and support personal freedom.
- AnimalMuppet 4y agoArguing against slavery and for freedom is dismal? I presume that, in supporting slavery (in the West Indies, with the intent of increasing productivity), Carlyle was not himself intending to apply for the position...
- Nokinside 4y agoJoseph Goebbels read passages from Carlyle's book to comfort Hitler during their last days in the bunker. Carlyle believed in Herocracy (Government of Heroes) and was very racist
- civilized 4y agoBased on the quotes in the wiki article, this guy sounds like an immensely pretentious, airheaded, gleefully racist twat. I'm not big on cancel culture, but I would gladly participate in a ferocious student protest against this guy being read in schools as if he was some sort of respectable figure. Which is not to say don't read him at all, just point out these really ugly things too.