This characterization of Expertise in Popular Economics is still very apt, I think; it was written nearly two centuries ago. (The original is at the bottom of the post.) ... in Adam Smith was his diploma; our deep economist had got the gift of recognizing what a nation’s wealth is, what augments it, and how a country lives, and why it needs no gold if a supply of _simple product_¹ supplements it. His father failed to understand and took a mortgage on his land. This is from Pushkin's _Eugene Onegin_, a part of the introduction of the titular character (Chapter One, stanza VII). This is a very serious book, but at the same time there are pinches of sarcasm throughout; let the reader pay attention. I just picked the first translation at hand and it happened to be Charles Johnston’s from 1977 (as published by Alfred A. Knopf in the US, sixth printing; page 16). Unfortunately, I have misplaced my copy of Douglas Hofstadter’s translation (there are quite a few English translations overall, perhaps about ten). For comparison, here is a non-poetic literal translation: ... However, he read Adam Smith And was a deep economist, That is, he was capable of judgement on The way a nation gains wealth, And what it lives on, and why It needs no gold, As long as it has _simple product_¹. His father could not understand him And used lands as collateral. Pushkin’s original: ... Зато читал Адама Смита И был глубокий эконом, То есть умел судить о том Как государство богатеет, И чем живет, и почему Не нужно золото ему, Когда оно _простой продукт_¹ имеет. Отец его понять не мог И земли отдавал в залог. _________ ¹ The precise meaning of “simple product” (простой продукт) is obscure; it may refer to concepts of late-18th-century French economics. #Economics #EugeneOnegin #PopularEconomics #PushkinQuote