--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I started in the law; and the study of…" description: "\"I started in the law; and the study of law, when it precedes the study of economics, gives you a set of foundation principles about how human beings in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/robert-reich-1333_economics_i-started-in-the-law-and-the-study-of-la_1848410.jpg" --- # I started in the law; and the study of law, when it… ![“I started in the law; and the study of law, when it precedes the study of economics, gives you a set of foundation principles about how human beings interact. Economics is very useful, and I studied economics in graduate school. But without understanding the social and organizational context of…” quote by Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/robert-reich-1333_economics_i-started-in-the-law-and-the-study-of-la_1848410.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/robert-reich-1333_economics_i-started-in-the-law-and-the-study-of-la_1848410.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/robert-reich-1333_economics_i-started-in-the-law-and-the-study-of-la_1848410.jpg) > “I started in the law; and the study of law, when it precedes the study of economics, gives you a set of foundation principles about how human beings interact. Economics is very useful, and I studied economics in graduate school. But without understanding the social and organizational context of economics, it becomes a theory without any groundwork.” [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Studying law before economics provides a social framework that grounds economic theory in real human interaction. **In simple terms:** Law gives context to economics. Key Takeaway Learn the social foundations before applying economic models. Themes law economics social context foundations Mood analytical critical Type educational thought‑provoking When to use this quote - policy analysis - business strategy - public administration - academic research Key Concepts institutional analysis human behavior policy design Questions to Reflect On - How does social context shape economic outcomes? - What legal principles are essential for economic policy? A Different Perspective Economic models may fail without considering cultural and organizational nuances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Graduate school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduate-school/) [Graduates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduates/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [“In the corporate realm, where several laws are in operation, implementation receives a blow when it comes to interpretation and understanding the spirit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrietta-newton-martin/in-the-corporate-realm-where-several-laws-are-in-operation/) [Henrietta Newton Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrietta-newton-martin/) > [My family are quite academic, and I was set to study economics and politics at university.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-t-fagbenle/my-family-are-quite-academic-and-i-was-set-to-study-economics-and/) [O. T. Fagbenle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-t-fagbenle/) > [I studied economics with some teachers from ESADE. It's a really good school here in Spain. They helped me to understand a little about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-pique/i-studied-economics-with-some-teachers-from-esade-it-s-a-really-good/) [Gerard Pique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-pique/) > [I studied economics and thought I wanted to play with the stock market - my dad was a financial adviser - and I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-o-yang/i-studied-economics-and-thought-i-wanted-to-play-with-the-stock/) [Jimmy O. Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-o-yang/) > [I studied economics and made it my career for two reasons. The subject was and is intellectually fascinating and challenging, particularly to someone with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-tobin/i-studied-economics-and-made-it-my-career-for-two-reasons-the-subject/) [James Tobin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-tobin/) > [How sad to see a father with money and no joy. The man studied economics, but never studied happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/how-sad-to-see-a-father-with-money-and-no-joy-the-man-studied/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [To those who say climate change is not caused by human activity or that addressing it will harm the economy, let's encourage them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-o-malley/to-those-who-say-climate-change-is-not-caused-by-human-activity-or/) [Martin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-o-malley/) > [I didn't like university life much at Bologna. The subjects I studied - economics and business administration - didn't interest me. I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/i-didn-t-like-university-life-much-at-bologna-the-subjects-i-studied/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [When you choose your profession, you also choose your own downfall or success. If one chooses to become an artist it is 99% certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odd-nerdrum/when-you-choose-your-profession-you-also-choose-your-own-downfall-or/) [Odd Nerdrum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odd-nerdrum/) > [The study of economics has been again and again led astray by the vain idea that economics must proceed according to the pattern of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-study-of-economics-has-been-again-and-again-led-astray-by-the/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [A study of economics usually reveals that the best time to buy anything is last year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-allen/a-study-of-economics-usually-reveals-that-the-best-time-to-buy/) [Marty Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marty-allen/) > [A citizen who casts his ballot without having to the best of his abilities studied as much economics as he can fails in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/a-citizen-who-casts-his-ballot-without-having-to-the-best-of-his/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [I studied economics. I studied industrial engineering. It wasn't until later, when I was around 26, that I really decided to go to film school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-peck/i-studied-economics-i-studied-industrial-engineering-it-wasn-t-until/) [Raoul Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-peck/) > [“We all know how 'modern democracies take loaves from the wealthy.' It's the slipups in the 'pass them out to the poor' department that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke-2/we-all-know-how-modern-democracies-take-loaves-from-the-wealthy-it-s/) [P.J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke-2/) > [Class I to XII wasn't much help; I was always a mediocre student. But when I pursued higher education and studied economics with theatre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vir-das/class-i-to-xii-wasn-t-much-help-i-was-always-a-mediocre-student-but/) [Vir Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vir-das/) ## More by Robert Reich > [The Democratic Party is DEAD.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/the-democratic-party-is-dead/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [During three decades from 1947 to 1977, the nation implemented what might be called a basic bargain with American workers. Employers paid them enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/during-three-decades-from-1947-to-1977-the-nation-implemented-what/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [A leader is someone who steps back from the entire system and tries to build a more collaborative, more innovative system that will work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/a-leader-is-someone-who-steps-back-from-the-entire-system-and-tries/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [The faith that anyone could move from rags to riches - with enough guts and gumption, hard work and nose to the grindstone -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/the-faith-that-anyone-could-move-from-rags-to-riches-with-enough-guts/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [If you give up on politics, you're giving up on democracy. And if you give up on democracy, you're basically saying to the moneyed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/if-you-give-up-on-politics-you-re-giving-up-on-democracy-and-if-you/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [Given that ever-broadening array of options and alternatives, as consumers and investors, we are often bewildered. We need guidance. That's where today's brands come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/given-that-ever-broadening-array-of-options-and-alternatives-as/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [I knew Hillary Clinton from undergraduate days and was enormously impressed with her. She was a terrific energy and enthusiasm, and a great organizer.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/i-knew-hillary-clinton-from-undergraduate-days-and-was-enormously/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [Public employees should have the right to bargain for better wages and working conditions, just like all employees do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/public-employees-should-have-the-right-to-bargain-for-better-wages/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [Limits should be placed on how big big banks can become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/limits-should-be-placed-on-how-big-big-banks-can-become/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [Every organization, no matter who it is, just follow the money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/every-organization-no-matter-who-it-is-just-follow-the-money/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [Community colleges are great bargains. They avoid the fancy amenities four-year liberal arts colleges need in order to lure the children of the middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/community-colleges-are-great-bargains-they-avoid-the-fancy-amenities/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [Any bank that is too big to fail is too big. Period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/any-bank-that-is-too-big-to-fail-is-too-big-period/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [Today, for good or ill, people are thinking about many social problems from the standpoint of their own kitchen tables. I think the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/today-for-good-or-ill-people-are-thinking-about-many-social-problems/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [There's sort of a chilling effect on non-profits and the media and a lot of other places because the establishment is so powerful. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/there-s-sort-of-a-chilling-effect-on-non-profits-and-the-media-and-a/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [We already have an annual wealth tax on homes, the major asset of the middle class. It's called the property tax. Why not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/we-already-have-an-annual-wealth-tax-on-homes-the-major-asset-of-the/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) [Explore all 255 Robert Reich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) ## More Economics quotes > [Don't let's lose sight of what creates wealth. It is open markets, it is capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/don-t-let-s-lose-sight-of-what-creates-wealth-it-is-open-markets-it/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Our biggest challenge is to eliminate the popular perception that economists don't have anything useful to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zandi/our-biggest-challenge-is-to-eliminate-the-popular-perception-that/) [Mark Zandi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zandi/) > [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bond/advances-in-technology-will-continue-to-reach-far-into-every-sector/) [Christopher Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bond/) > [Our engagement through international economics, trade, these trade agreements, is vital and is linked to our national security. This is a lesson we learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-boustany/our-engagement-through-international-economics-trade-these-trade/) [Charles Boustany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-boustany/) > [“The free-market economy and globalisation process have brought about, in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, a sharp and sudden rise in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaakov-malkin/the-free-market-economy-and-globalisation-process-have-brought-about/) Yaakov Malkin > [“Everything economic science posits as given, that is, the range of dispositions of the economic agent which ground the illusion of the ahistorical universality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bourdieu/everything-economic-science-posits-as-given-that-is-the-range-of/) [Pierre Bourdieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bourdieu/) > [Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/politics-is-about-power-it-is-about-the-power-of-the-state-it-is/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) > [Having an economy that works for the 99% is achievable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winnie-byanyima/having-an-economy-that-works-for-the-99-is-achievable/) [Winnie Byanyima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winnie-byanyima/) > [“a select group of high-performing companies have managed to close the strategy-to-performance gap through better planning and execution. These companies—Barclays, Cisco Systems, Dow Chemical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mankins/a-select-group-of-high-performing-companies-have-managed-to-close-the/) [Michael C. Mankins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mankins/) > [The system of private property is the most important guaranty of freedom, not only for those who own property, but scarcely less for those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-system-of-private-property-is-the-most-important-guaranty-of/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Economists think about what people ought to do. Psychologists watch what they actually do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/economists-think-about-what-people-ought-to-do-psychologists-watch/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Economists have a singular method of procedure. There are only two kinds of institutions for them, artificial and natural. The institutions of feudalism are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/economists-have-a-singular-method-of-procedure-there-are-only-two/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [As the variable capital always stays in the hands of the capitalist in some form or other, it cannot be claimed in any way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-the-variable-capital-always-stays-in-the-hands-of-the-capitalist/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) [Browse all 7,788 Economics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I started in the law; and the study of law, when it precedes the study of economics, gives you a set of foundation principles about how human beings interact. Economics is very useful, and I studied economics in graduate school. But without understanding the social and organizational context of economics, it becomes a theory without any groundwork.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Reich" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/i-started-in-the-law-and-the-study-of-law-when-it-precedes-the-study/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Economics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/i-started-in-the-law-and-the-study-of-law-when-it-precedes-the-study/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/robert-reich-1333_economics_i-started-in-the-law-and-the-study-of-la_1848410.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/robert-reich-1333_economics_i-started-in-the-law-and-the-study-of-la_1848410.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/robert-reich-1333_economics_i-started-in-the-law-and-the-study-of-la_1848410.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I started in the law; and the study of law, when it precedes the study of economics, gives you a set of…” — Robert Reich", "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": "Robert Reich", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I started in the law; and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/i-started-in-the-law-and-the-study-of-law-when-it-precedes-the-study/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/i-started-in-the-law-and-the-study-of-law-when-it-precedes-the-study/#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 } } ] } ```