--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was not sympathetic to the assumption…" description: "\"I was not sympathetic to the assumption that criminals had radically different motivations from everyone else.\" — Gary Becker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/gary-becker-34402_assumption_i-was-not-sympathetic-to-the-assumption_2455937.jpg" --- # I was not sympathetic to the assumption that criminals had… ![“I was not sympathetic to the assumption that criminals had radically different motivations from everyone else.” quote by Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/gary-becker-34402_assumption_i-was-not-sympathetic-to-the-assumption_2455937.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/gary-becker-34402_assumption_i-was-not-sympathetic-to-the-assumption_2455937.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/gary-becker-34402_assumption_i-was-not-sympathetic-to-the-assumption_2455937.jpg) > “I was not sympathetic to the assumption that criminals had radically different motivations from everyone else.” [Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Criminals share the same basic motivations as non‑criminals; differences are situational, not inherent. **In simple terms:** People act similarly regardless of label. Key Takeaway Address underlying incentives. Themes crime economics human behavior motivation social policy Mood analytical critical Type sociological policy When to use this quote - policy design - rehabilitation programs - community outreach Key Concepts rational choice incentive structures social norms Questions to Reflect On - What incentives drive criminal behavior? - How can policies reshape those incentives? A Different Perspective Assuming uniform motives may ignore systemic factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) [Criminals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminals/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Sympathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathetic/) ## Related quotes > [Different kinds of people have different motivations for filling out surveys. Sometimes you would have a group of people who just would fill it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wylie/different-kinds-of-people-have-different-motivations-for-filling-out/) [Christopher Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wylie/) > [If you don't need that capital, then all the pressures are different, and the motivations to go public are not there in the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/if-you-don-t-need-that-capital-then-all-the-pressures-are-different/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [We all need that sometimes, to get re-sparked again. Sometimes it's different influences and different motivations; sometimes we've got to go and get back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmelo-anthony/we-all-need-that-sometimes-to-get-re-sparked-again-sometimes-it-s/) [Carmelo Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmelo-anthony/) > [Every player responds to different motivations differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danilo-gallinari/every-player-responds-to-different-motivations-differently/) [Danilo Gallinari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danilo-gallinari/) > [Sequels are generally done in a rush. They're done with a sense of urgency. The first time, you spend a long time developing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/sequels-are-generally-done-in-a-rush-they-re-done-with-a-sense-of/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [Still, intuitive assumptions about behavior is only the starting point of systematic analysis, for alone they do not yield many interesting implications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/still-intuitive-assumptions-about-behavior-is-only-the-starting-point/) [Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) > [Strange how love coexists with hate, how they render eachother mute, how the swilling of them together makes a new and softer, sympathetic thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-hartnett/strange-how-love-coexists-with-hate-how-they-render-eachother-mute/) [Sonya Hartnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-hartnett/) > [The science of the future will be based on sympathetic vibrations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/the-science-of-the-future-will-be-based-on-sympathetic-vibrations/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [You can't dictate if a character's going to come off as sympathetic to an audience. I just tried to play it as honest as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-wahlberg/you-can-t-dictate-if-a-character-s-going-to-come-off-as-sympathetic/) [Donnie Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-wahlberg/) > [No place could be less sympathetic to my politics than America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nan-goldin/no-place-could-be-less-sympathetic-to-my-politics-than-america/) [Nan Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nan-goldin/) > [Demographically, I'm a hippie from San Francisco and I'm not culturally inclined to be sympathetic to states' rights. My cultural heritage is FDR and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/demographically-i-m-a-hippie-from-san-francisco-and-i-m-not/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [...I have to tell you that I'm not all that comfortable with the idea of spending the rest of my life sleeping next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/i-have-to-tell-you-that-i-m-not-all-that-comfortable-with-the-idea-of/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [I am sympathetic to developing countries’ concerns: because of our emissions it’s their crops that will disappear; because of our inaction, it’s their fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-am-sympathetic-to-developing-countries-concerns-because-of-our/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [The easiest way for readers to connect with characters and feel sympathy is to make the character entertaining, sympathetic and likeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randa-abdel-fattah/the-easiest-way-for-readers-to-connect-with-characters-and-feel/) [Randa Abdel-Fattah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randa-abdel-fattah/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) ## More by Gary Becker > [My work on human capital began with an effort to calculate both private and social rates of return to men, women, blacks, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/my-work-on-human-capital-began-with-an-effort-to-calculate-both/) [Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) > [Different constraints are decisive for different situations, but the most fundamental constraint is limited time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/different-constraints-are-decisive-for-different-situations-but-the/) [Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) > [Still, intuitive assumptions about behavior is only the starting point of systematic analysis, for alone they do not yield many interesting implications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/still-intuitive-assumptions-about-behavior-is-only-the-starting-point/) [Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) > [Human capital analysis starts with the assumption that individuals decide on their education, training, medical care, and other additions to knowledge and health by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/human-capital-analysis-starts-with-the-assumption-that-individuals/) [Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) > [A stronger yuan could lead to greater Chinese asset accumulation in the U.S. and elsewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/a-stronger-yuan-could-lead-to-greater-chinese-asset-accumulation-in/) [Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) > [Even a wizard would have a great deal of difficulty repealing the economic law that higher minimum wages reduce employment. Since politicians are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/even-a-wizard-would-have-a-great-deal-of-difficulty-repealing-the/) [Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) > [I am saying that the economic approach provides a valuable unified framework for understanding all human behaviour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/i-am-saying-that-the-economic-approach-provides-a-valuable-unified/) [Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) > [I argued last year on my shared blog that selling the right to immigrate would be the best approach to legal immigration. Among other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/i-argued-last-year-on-my-shared-blog-that-selling-the-right-to/) [Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) > [The Treatise tries to analyze not only modern Western families, but also those in other cultures and the changes in family structure during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/the-treatise-tries-to-analyze-not-only-modern-western-families-but/) [Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) > [Why in almost all societies have married women specialized in bearing and rearing children and in certain agricultural activities, whereas married men have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/why-in-almost-all-societies-have-married-women-specialized-in-bearing/) [Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) > [Fines are preferable to imprisonment and other types of punishment because they are more efficient. With a fine, the punishment to offenders is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/fines-are-preferable-to-imprisonment-and-other-types-of-punishment/) [Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) > [Along with others, I have tried to pry economists away from narrow assumptions about self interest. Behavior is driven by a much richer set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/along-with-others-i-have-tried-to-pry-economists-away-from-narrow/) [Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) > [Economy is the art of making the most of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/economy-is-the-art-of-making-the-most-of-life/) [Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) [Explore all 14 Gary Becker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) ## More Assumption quotes > [Next to the assumption of power was the responsibility of relinquishing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/next-to-the-assumption-of-power-was-the-responsibility-of/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) Richard Doll > [Fortunately, the mind is restless; when it uncovers a layer of its own deception, gives up an illusion, exposes a lie, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/fortunately-the-mind-is-restless-when-it-uncovers-a-layer-of-its-own/) [Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/) > [The possibility of saying anything about a thing rests on the assumption that it preserves its identity, or continues to be the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-knight/the-possibility-of-saying-anything-about-a-thing-rests-on-the/) [Frank Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-knight/) > [She spent hours drawing on her own, trying to perfect her craft. And when she got into music, she had that same diligence in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-joplin/she-spent-hours-drawing-on-her-own-trying-to-perfect-her-craft-and/) [Laura Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-joplin/) > [If they are, then the only ultimate truths are the particulars of concrete experience, and no postulate or general assumption is inherent in science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/if-they-are-then-the-only-ultimate-truths-are-the-particulars-of/) [Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/) > [If he's - the inference is that somehow he thinks slavery is a - is a noble institution I would - I would strongly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-he-s-the-inference-is-that-somehow-he-thinks-slavery-is-a-is-a/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Leadership, pure and simple, is the assumption of responsibility for the pursuit of excellence in group life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-selznick/leadership-pure-and-simple-is-the-assumption-of-responsibility-for/) Philip Selznick > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [When I see a fan coming over, I can't help but make an assumption about what they want to talk about. A middle-aged American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/when-i-see-a-fan-coming-over-i-can-t-help-but-make-an-assumption/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [The Bell curve is a fact of life. The blacks on average score 85 per cent on IQ and it is accurate, nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/the-bell-curve-is-a-fact-of-life-the-blacks-on-average-score-85-per/) [Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/) > [Pussy Riot have certainly changed some people's assumptions about the role of political art and the relationship between the intelligentsia and the church. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/pussy-riot-have-certainly-changed-some-people-s-assumptions-about-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) [Browse all 1,277 Assumption quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was not sympathetic to the assumption that criminals had radically different motivations from everyone else.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gary Becker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/i-was-not-sympathetic-to-the-assumption-that-criminals-had-radically/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assumption" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/i-was-not-sympathetic-to-the-assumption-that-criminals-had-radically/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/gary-becker-34402_assumption_i-was-not-sympathetic-to-the-assumption_2455937.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/gary-becker-34402_assumption_i-was-not-sympathetic-to-the-assumption_2455937.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/gary-becker-34402_assumption_i-was-not-sympathetic-to-the-assumption_2455937.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was not sympathetic to the assumption that criminals had radically different motivations from everyone else.” — Gary Becker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gary Becker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was not sympathetic to the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/i-was-not-sympathetic-to-the-assumption-that-criminals-had-radically/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/i-was-not-sympathetic-to-the-assumption-that-criminals-had-radically/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```