Economics is considered to be a science as well as an art. Some of its features like...self corrective nature, systematic body of knowledge, own laws and theories, universal validity of its laws(law of demand,marginal utility,law of diminishing returns,etc) support economics to be a science, but its other features like lack of predictability and lack of accurate observation and experimentation prevents the same... Moreover economics has some features in common with art i.e. The applicability of theories and principles into practical use. For this reason Marshall took out a midway and regarded economics as a science,pure and applied,rather than a science and an art.
Economics is a science that treats of those social phenomena that are due to wealth getting and wealth using activities of Man. The word "Economics" is derived from the Greeks word "Oikonomos" which means to manage the house. So it means the management of a household especially in those matters, which are relating to the income and expenses of the family. After sometime, political economy term was also used for this topic and slowly political economy adopted the shape of Economics. There are numerous definitions of Economics offered from time to time but there is no clear and concise definition. Keeping in view this situation J.M. Keynes has rightly, stated " Political Economy is said to have strangled itself with definition."
Production of wealth as to how goods and services are produced by combining the four factors of production. For example Mr. David wants to produce sugar will combine the four factors of production. First of all, he purchases land, and then he purchases machinery and raw material. Then he employees labourers and organizes the business. After combining these factors he will produce sugar. Keeping in view the above discussion we may find that economics is a science of wealth in which we study wealth through its four aspects: production, exchange, distribution and consumption of wealth.
