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Daily Inspiration Quote by George Stigler

"In 1958, I came to Chicago where I have remained"

About this Quote

A single bland sentence that quietly flexes: Stigler turns biography into ideology. "In 1958, I came to Chicago where I have remained" reads like the driest possible timeline marker, but the subtext is tribal. In economics, "Chicago" isn’t just a city; it’s a brand, a school, a posture toward markets and government. To say you “remained” is to signal loyalty, discipline, and a kind of intellectual homeownership. No drama, no conversion narrative, no careerist churn. Just permanence.

The specific intent feels strategic: Stigler collapses an entire professional identity into one coordinate on the map. The year matters. Postwar America is building a managerial state, Keynesian policy is mainstream, and the University of Chicago is cultivating a counter-elite: skeptical of regulation, confident in price theory, increasingly influential. By choosing 1958 as the hinge, Stigler frames his career as arriving at the right place before it became the place. He’s not chasing the wave; he’s helping generate it.

The line also performs a Chicago-style aesthetic: anti-flourish, anti-romance, allergic to moralizing. It’s a deadpan that functions like a résumé and a creed at once. Economists often argue that incentives shape behavior; Stigler, with a minimalist wink, shows how institutions shape economists. “I have remained” is both a fact and a claim: stability as virtue, belonging as authority, and the soft power of staying put long enough for the world to come to you.

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TopicNew Beginnings
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APA Style (7th ed.)
Stigler, George. (n.d.). In 1958, I came to Chicago where I have remained. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/in-1958-i-came-to-chicago-where-i-have-remained-142407/

Chicago Style
Stigler, George. "In 1958, I came to Chicago where I have remained." FixQuotes. Accessed February 3, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/in-1958-i-came-to-chicago-where-i-have-remained-142407/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"In 1958, I came to Chicago where I have remained." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/in-1958-i-came-to-chicago-where-i-have-remained-142407/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.

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About the Author

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George Stigler (January 17, 1911 - December 1, 1991) was a Economist from USA.

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