--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An economist is someone who sees…" description: "\"An economist is someone who sees something that works in practice and wonders if it would work in theory.\" — Ronald Reagan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/ronald-reagan-119_economics_an-economist-is-someone-who-sees-somethi_2266510.jpg" --- # An economist is someone who sees something that works in… ![“An economist is someone who sees something that works in practice and wonders if it would work in theory.” quote by Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/ronald-reagan-119_economics_an-economist-is-someone-who-sees-somethi_2266510.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/ronald-reagan-119_economics_an-economist-is-someone-who-sees-somethi_2266510.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/ronald-reagan-119_economics_an-economist-is-someone-who-sees-somethi_2266510.jpg) > “An economist is someone who sees something that works in practice and wonders if it would work in theory.” [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He notes that practical success often precedes theoretical validation, highlighting a gap between practice and theory. **In simple terms:** Practice works before theory explains it. Key Takeaway Test ideas in real life before theorizing. Themes economics practice theory innovation policy Mood analytical pragmatic Type inspirational educational When to use this quote - Business strategy - product development - public policy - education Key Concepts Empirical validation theoretical modeling policy implementation Questions to Reflect On - How can theory better inform practice? - When should practice lead theory? A Different Perspective Theory may overlook practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Economist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [The bad economist sees only what immediately strikes the eye; the good economist also looks beyond. The bad economist sees only the direct consequences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-bad-economist-sees-only-what-immediately-strikes-the-eye-the-good/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [You know economists; they're the sort of people who see something works in practice and wonder if it would work in theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/you-know-economists-they-re-the-sort-of-people-who-see-something/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Economists are people who wonder if what works in reality can also work in theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/economists-are-people-who-wonder-if-what-works-in-reality-can-also/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [What liberates the imagination is the sense that work in its theory and practice holds aesthetic possibilities, that jobs can be elegantly conceived and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/what-liberates-the-imagination-is-the-sense-that-work-in-its-theory/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [No theory is good unless it permits, not rest, but the greatest work. No theory is good except on condition that one use it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/no-theory-is-good-unless-it-permits-not-rest-but-the-greatest-work-no/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Well, it may be all right in practice, but it will never work in theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/well-it-may-be-all-right-in-practice-but-it-will-never-work-in-theory/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [“That's fine in practice, but will it work in theory?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garret-fitzgerald/that-s-fine-in-practice-but-will-it-work-in-theory/) Garret FitzGerald > [That's all well and good in practice, but how does it work in theory?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shmuel-weinberger/that-s-all-well-and-good-in-practice-but-how-does-it-work-in-theory/) Shmuel Weinberger > [A friend of mine was asked to a costume ball a short time ago. He slapped some egg on his face and went as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/a-friend-of-mine-was-asked-to-a-costume-ball-a-short-time-ago-he/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Losses of a kind of satisfaction that have no market equivalent don't show up in the calculations of economists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/losses-of-a-kind-of-satisfaction-that-have-no-market-equivalent-don-t/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [All professionals, whether physicists, economists or musicians, live by and for peer judgment, even when they are being paid by people who cannot tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/all-professionals-whether-physicists-economists-or-musicians-live-by/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [It is often sadly remarked that the bad economists present their errors to the public better than the good economists present their truths. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/it-is-often-sadly-remarked-that-the-bad-economists-present-their/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Ronald Reagan > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [You know, by the time you reach my age, you've made plenty of mistakes if you've lived your life properly. So you learn. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/you-know-by-the-time-you-reach-my-age-you-ve-made-plenty-of-mistakes/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall. For it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/yes-across-europe-this-wall-will-fall-for-it-cannot-withstand-faith/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Simple fairness dictates that government must not raise taxes on families struggling to pay their bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/simple-fairness-dictates-that-government-must-not-raise-taxes-on/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The time has come to turn to God and reassert our trust in Him for the healing of America - our country is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-time-has-come-to-turn-to-god-and-reassert-our-trust-in-him-for/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Professional politicians like to talk about the value of experience in government. Nuts! The only experience you gain in politics is how to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/professional-politicians-like-to-talk-about-the-value-of-experience/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The WPA was one of the most productive elements of FDR's alphabet soup of agencies because it put people to work building roads, bridges,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-wpa-was-one-of-the-most-productive-elements-of-fdr-s-alphabet/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Where there's liberty, art succeeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/where-there-s-liberty-art-succeeds/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Since I came to the White House, I got two hearing aids, a colon operation, skin cancer, a prostate operation, and I was shot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/since-i-came-to-the-white-house-i-got-two-hearing-aids-a-colon/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [A moment I've been dreading. George brought his ne're-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/a-moment-i-ve-been-dreading-george-brought-his-ne-re-do-well-son/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [On Father's Day, we pay tribute to all in our society who have taken on the responsibilitie s and joys of fatherhood. Whether our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/on-father-s-day-we-pay-tribute-to-all-in-our-society-who-have-taken/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/there-is-no-limit-to-the-amount-of-good-you-can-do-if-you-don-t-care/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [It's not that liberals aren't smart, it's just that so much of what they know isn't so](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/it-s-not-that-liberals-aren-t-smart-it-s-just-that-so-much-of-what/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Love your country, not for her power or wealth, but for her selflessness and her idealism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/love-your-country-not-for-her-power-or-wealth-but-for-her/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) [Explore all 1,244 Ronald Reagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) ## 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": "An economist is someone who sees something that works in practice and wonders if it would work in theory.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ronald Reagan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/an-economist-is-someone-who-sees-something-that-works-in-practice-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Economics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/an-economist-is-someone-who-sees-something-that-works-in-practice-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/ronald-reagan-119_economics_an-economist-is-someone-who-sees-somethi_2266510.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/ronald-reagan-119_economics_an-economist-is-someone-who-sees-somethi_2266510.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/ronald-reagan-119_economics_an-economist-is-someone-who-sees-somethi_2266510.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An economist is someone who sees something that works in practice and wonders if it would work in theory.” — Ronald Reagan", "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": "Ronald Reagan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An economist is someone who sees...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/an-economist-is-someone-who-sees-something-that-works-in-practice-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/an-economist-is-someone-who-sees-something-that-works-in-practice-and/#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 } } ] } ```