Economics and Science

Is economics a science?

Economics is a science.  Merrium Webster defines science as a “a study of the natural world based on facts learned through experiments and observation.”  In my opinion, this definition mostly encompass the field of economics.  What this definition lacks is the essence of economics, and the non-technical aspects of it that make it fit into the field of economics.   It is true that the some of economics focuses on making assumptions based on both past and current observations.  Economics is still largely based on hard facts from the past; for example, if someone sees a phenomenon or specific system that worked in the past (Reaganomics in the 80's), they can apply it to modern-day.  Even then, it is still a study, and not based on true certainty.  Economics is a science in that it has the principle of fields like biology or chemistry.  It's based, most importantly, on logic and reasoning to make conclusions.  It looks in the past to see the various variables that were manipulated, and most importantly, they study people.  In a free-market, capitalist society, the people are the ones that drive the economy, and are actually harder to study because they can be unpredictable.  This is one of the reasons I think economics should be a highly respected science; it studies humans, which can be the hardest to predict and make conclusions from because of their ability to reason.