--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The oldest theory of contract is I think…" description: "\"The oldest theory of contract is I think negative.\" — Frederick Pollock" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3e/frederick-pollock-29925_contract_the-oldest-theory-of-contract-is-i-think_3113655.jpg" --- # The oldest theory of contract is I think negative. ![“The oldest theory of contract is I think negative.” quote by Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3e/frederick-pollock-29925_contract_the-oldest-theory-of-contract-is-i-think_3113655.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3e/frederick-pollock-29925_contract_the-oldest-theory-of-contract-is-i-think_3113655.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3e/frederick-pollock-29925_contract_the-oldest-theory-of-contract-is-i-think_3113655.jpg) > “The oldest theory of contract is I think negative.” [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The earliest contract theory is negative, suggesting that agreements arise from the avoidance of loss rather than the pursuit of gain. **In simple terms:** Contracts start from avoiding harm. Key Takeaway Consider risk reduction in agreements. Themes law economics psychology Mood analytical critical Type legal philosophical When to use this quote - business negotiations - legal drafting - personal agreements Key Concepts contract theory negative framing risk management Questions to Reflect On - Do you focus on preventing loss or creating value? - How does this perspective affect trust? A Different Perspective Risk avoidance may overlook opportunities for mutual benefit. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contract/) [Contract Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contract-think-1087648/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Negative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negative/) [Oldest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oldest/) [Oldest Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oldest-theory-3968151/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Theory Contract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory-contract-5444066/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Negative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-negative-270030/) ## Related quotes > [I always thought once you get your contract, I think that's when the accolades and all that stuff comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-harris-jr/i-always-thought-once-you-get-your-contract-i-think-that-s-when-the/) [Chris Harris, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-harris-jr/) > [When you sign a contract you only think about staying for all of it, but that depends on many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thiago-silva/when-you-sign-a-contract-you-only-think-about-staying-for-all-of-it/) [Thiago Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thiago-silva/) > [The oldest theory of art belongs to the Greeks, who regarded art as an imitation (mimesis) of reality. The strength of that theory is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/the-oldest-theory-of-art-belongs-to-the-greeks-who-regarded-art-as-an/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [Now I think a lot of wrestlers want to get signed so that way they can be with a company where they can learn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-sydal/now-i-think-a-lot-of-wrestlers-want-to-get-signed-so-that-way-they/) [Matt Sydal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-sydal/) > [Does it seem to you impossible to imagine anything more inextricable than the social contract, when you think of the frightful number of relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/does-it-seem-to-you-impossible-to-imagine-anything-more-inextricable/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [I'm not afraid to do a contrast in terms of what my record is, what I want to do, versus Ted Cruz's record of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-allred/i-m-not-afraid-to-do-a-contrast-in-terms-of-what-my-record-is-what-i/) [Colin Allred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-allred/) > [I've always believed that you can think positive just as well as you can think negative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/i-ve-always-believed-that-you-can-think-positive-just-as-well-as-you/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [I think there's so much negative influence on children in school settings. It becomes learning by rote to pass a test. It's not contextualized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/i-think-there-s-so-much-negative-influence-on-children-in-school/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) > [“We become what we think. If you have a negative thinking, stop thinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/we-become-what-we-think-if-you-have-a-negative-thinking-stop-thinking/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) > [Your life will follow your expectations. What you expect is what you will get. If you dwell on positive thoughts, you will move in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/your-life-will-follow-your-expectations-what-you-expect-is-what-you/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [The very moment at which you start to think in negative way. You loose the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/the-very-moment-at-which-you-start-to-think-in-negative-way-you-loose/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [I think negative almost about everything jus to avoid being hurt from shit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-negative-almost-about-everything-jus-to-avoid-being-hurt-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never think in a negative scenario.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-ten-hag/i-never-think-in-a-negative-scenario/) [Erik ten Hag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-ten-hag/) > [Always think in a negative way, because the positive thinking never exists in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-huff/always-think-in-a-negative-way-because-the-positive-thinking-never/) [Robin Huff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-huff/) > [Every time you think a negative thought, it's one step in the wrong direction, for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-paul/every-time-you-think-a-negative-thought-it-s-one-step-in-the-wrong/) [Sean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-paul/) ## More by Frederick Pollock > [So far I go with the Socialists as to think it a pretty general rule that, where monopoly is necessary, it is better in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-pollock/so-far-i-go-with-the-socialists-as-to-think-it-a-pretty-general-rule/) [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) > [I have not heard that even the New York abortion has done very much in the States where it has been enacted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-pollock/i-have-not-heard-that-even-the-new-york-abortion-has-done-very-much/) [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) > [The lawyer has not reached the height of his vocation who does not find therein... scope for a peculiar but genuine artistic function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-pollock/the-lawyer-has-not-reached-the-height-of-his-vocation-who-does-not/) [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) > [It is odd how learned persons fail to see that new terms and definitions are apt to mean new doubts and litigation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-pollock/it-is-odd-how-learned-persons-fail-to-see-that-new-terms-and/) [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) > [Consider the Essay as a political pamphlet on the Revolution side, and the fact that it was the Whig gospel for a century, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-pollock/consider-the-essay-as-a-political-pamphlet-on-the-revolution-side-and/) [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) > [The practice of the law is a perfectly distinct art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-pollock/the-practice-of-the-law-is-a-perfectly-distinct-art/) [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) > [Our lady the Common Law is a very wise old lady though she still has something to learn in telling what she knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-pollock/our-lady-the-common-law-is-a-very-wise-old-lady-though-she-still-has/) [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) > [Crabbed and obscure definitions are of no use beyond a narrow circle of students, of whom probably every one has a pet one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-pollock/crabbed-and-obscure-definitions-are-of-no-use-beyond-a-narrow-circle/) [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) > [Medieval justice was a quaint thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-pollock/medieval-justice-was-a-quaint-thing/) [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) > [A doctrine capable of being stated only in obscure and involved terms is open to reasonable suspicion of being either crude or erroneous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-pollock/a-doctrine-capable-of-being-stated-only-in-obscure-and-involved-terms/) [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) > [Have you ever found any logical reason why mutual promises are sufficient consideration for one another (like the two lean horses of a Calcutta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-pollock/have-you-ever-found-any-logical-reason-why-mutual-promises-are/) [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) > [But it is strange how many rational beings believe the ultimate truths of the universe to be reducible to patterns on a blackboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-pollock/but-it-is-strange-how-many-rational-beings-believe-the-ultimate/) [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) > [It is strange how little harm bad codes do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-pollock/it-is-strange-how-little-harm-bad-codes-do/) [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) > [It cannot be assumed that equity was following common law whenever they agreed, any more than the converse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-pollock/it-cannot-be-assumed-that-equity-was-following-common-law-whenever/) [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) > [Yet when one suspects that a man knows something about life that one hasn't heard before one is uneasy until one has found out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-pollock/yet-when-one-suspects-that-a-man-knows-something-about-life-that-one/) [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) [Explore all 18 Frederick Pollock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) ## More Contract quotes > [I am very convinced that I did not contract Ebola in the isolation unit, because our process is so safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-brantly/i-am-very-convinced-that-i-did-not-contract-ebola-in-the-isolation/) [Kent Brantly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-brantly/) > [A contract is an ask game, and if it asks for an hour, and I submit to an hour, then it's an hour. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/a-contract-is-an-ask-game-and-if-it-asks-for-an-hour-and-i-submit-to/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [I love Scott Coker and I love Bellator and I love what we have built together and it's a little uneasy to think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chandler/i-love-scott-coker-and-i-love-bellator-and-i-love-what-we-have-built/) [Michael Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chandler/) > [I signed my first book contract without paying much attention to what it said. I didn't know at the time that the book would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-land/i-signed-my-first-book-contract-without-paying-much-attention-to-what/) [Stephanie Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-land/) > [I work seriously with complete integrity. I never, never, never have offered a part to anyone who didn't deserve it, and I've never not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-toback/i-work-seriously-with-complete-integrity-i-never-never-never-have/) [James Toback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-toback/) > [Nowadays, in the contract that actors sign, you have to agree that you're going to do a certain amount of publicity-the hard part they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bridges/nowadays-in-the-contract-that-actors-sign-you-have-to-agree-that-you/) [Jeff Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bridges/) > [Society is indeed a contract. It is a partnership in all science; a partnership in all art; a partnership in every virtue, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/society-is-indeed-a-contract-it-is-a-partnership-in-all-science-a/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“A prisoner is imprisoned by the crime that he has committed. A jailer is imprisoned — in the very same prison — by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-prisoner-is-imprisoned-by-the-crime-that-he-has-committed-a-jailer/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“When we are quiet and still we contract and settle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/when-we-are-quiet-and-still-we-contract-and-settle/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [When you sign a contract, that's your deal. Everyone has different deals anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-duggan/when-you-sign-a-contract-that-s-your-deal-everyone-has-different/) [Toni Duggan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-duggan/) > [When you need to renew your contract, you must demonstrate why they are renewing your contract.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-pellegrini/when-you-need-to-renew-your-contract-you-must-demonstrate-why-they/) [Manuel Pellegrini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-pellegrini/) > [“You don't know with who you are having to deal with... you just sign the contract to die”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/you-don-t-know-with-who-you-are-having-to-deal-with-you-just-sign-the/) [Deyth Banger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deyth-banger/) > [Even if you have a contract you can be sold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teemu-pukki/even-if-you-have-a-contract-you-can-be-sold/) [Teemu Pukki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teemu-pukki/) > [I worked in three local news markets and in every single one of them, they said: 'You're a lousy anchor. 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