Cass Sunstein

Cass Sunstein – Life, Career, and Thought

: Cass Sunstein (born September 21, 1954) is an American legal scholar, public intellectual, and former Obama regulatory czar. Learn his biography, major works like Nudge, his theories, and influence.

Introduction: Who Is Cass Sunstein?

Cass Robert Sunstein (born September 21, 1954) is a leading American legal scholar and public intellectual whose work spans constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, and behavioral economics.

He is especially well known for coauthoring Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (2008), which popularized the notion of “libertarian paternalism” and the design of choice architecture.

From 2009 to 2012, Sunstein served as Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), playing a key role in U.S. regulatory policy under President Barack Obama.

Currently, he is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard Law School and directs the Program on Behavioral Economics & Public Policy.

His scholarship has been hugely influential—many consider him among the most cited legal academics in the U.S.

Early Life and Education

• Cass Sunstein was born in Waban (Concord), Massachusetts to Marian (née Goodrich), a teacher, and Cass Richard Sunstein, a builder.

• He attended Middlesex School (Concord, MA), graduating in 1972.

• He then matriculated at Harvard College, earning an A.B. in 1975, magna cum laude, where he played varsity squash and was involved with the Harvard Lampoon.

• He continued at Harvard Law School, where he graduated in 1978, magna cum laude, was executive editor of the Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review, and participated in moot court.

• After law school, he clerked for Justice Benjamin Kaplan of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (1978–1979), and then for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (1979–1980).

• He also served as an attorney-advisor in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel before entering academia.

These formative steps put him at the intersection of high-level legal work and rigorous academic inquiry.

Academic Career & Major Contributions

University of Chicago Years

• In 1981, Sunstein joined the University of Chicago Law School as an assistant professor.

• He rapidly expanded his roles, taking joint appointments in law and political science, and in 1988 was named the Karl N. Llewellyn Distinguished Service Professor of Jurisprudence.

• He taught and published extensively on topics such as constitutional interpretation, administrative law, the regulatory state, and risk regulation.

Move to Harvard & Focus on Risk Regulation

• In 2008, Sunstein joined Harvard Law School, where he became a professor and later the Robert Walmsley University Professor.

• At Harvard, he launched and directed the Program on Behavioral Economics & Public Policy, integrating legal analysis with insights from behavioral science.

• He has continued to write and publish prolifically, ranging from constitutional theory and regulatory policy to behavioral law and the relationship between law and human judgment.

Major Ideas & Influence

• Choice architecture & nudging
  In Nudge (2008), coauthored with Richard Thaler, Sunstein argues that institutions (governments, employers, platforms) can design “choice architectures” that subtly steer people to better choices without banning alternatives—what they term libertarian paternalism.

• Risk regulation and the precautionary principle
  Sunstein has been influential in debates about how law should regulate risks—balancing precaution and overregulation—and in critiquing overly fearful regulatory approaches.

• Judicial minimalism & legal interpretation
  He has defended a mode of judicial decision-making that avoids sweeping constitutional rulings when possible, focusing instead on resolving the particular case before the court.

• Information cascades & availability cascades
  With Timur Kuran, Sunstein developed the idea of “availability cascades”—social feedback loops wherein a widely publicized concern gains traction beyond its empirical basis.

Because of these cross-disciplinary contributions, Sunstein’s work influences not just legal scholars but policymakers, economists, and public administrators.

Public Service: Regulatory Role in the Obama Administration

• On September 10, 2009, Cass Sunstein was confirmed as Administrator of OIRA (Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs), a central regulatory oversight body within the Executive Office of the President.

• From 2009 to 2012, he oversaw major rulemaking processes, regulatory reviews, and efforts to streamline regulatory burdens.

• While in office, he faced criticism from both sides—some accused him of being too cautious, others of being too interventionist. Nonetheless, his tenure is seen as a high watermark for combining behavioral insights with regulatory practice.

Since leaving government, Sunstein has continued to influence public policy debates and has served on advisory roles and commissions.

Honors, Recognition & Personal Life

• In 2018, Sunstein was awarded the Holberg Prize, a major international accolade recognizing his impact on legal, political, and social science scholarship.

• He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

• In his personal life:

  • He first married Lisa Ruddick (divorced), with whom he has a daughter.

  • Later, on July 4, 2008, he married Samantha Power, a prominent diplomat who would later serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. They have two children.

• He is also an avid squash player, having competed at amateur levels.

These aspects reflect how his intellectual life intertwines with a broadly engaged public and personal sphere.

Memorable Quotes & Intellectual Voice

Here are some notable statements that reflect Sunstein’s approach and beliefs:

“People often make poor choices — and look back at them with bafflement! We do this because as human beings, we all are susceptible to a wide array of routine biases…” (from Nudge)

On taxes and public goods:
“We should celebrate tax day… Without taxes there would be no liberty. Without taxes there would be no property.”

On judicial philosophy:
“Judges should focus primarily on the case at hand, avoiding sweeping change whenever possible.” (paraphrase of his views on judicial minimalism)

On conspiracy and public belief:
Sunstein co-authored a controversial paper, “Conspiracy Theories”, proposing that government may sometimes engage in “cognitive infiltration” of extremist groups to counter misinformation.

These quotes and ideas offer windows into how Sunstein balances skepticism of human rationality with a strong normative belief in institutional design and public reason.

Lessons from Cass Sunstein’s Career & Thought

1. Bridge theory and practice
   Sunstein illustrates that serious legal theory can (and should) inform public policy and regulatory action.

2. Design matters
   The idea of “choice architecture” shows that how options are presented can significantly influence outcomes—even when people retain freedom.

3. Be humble about human cognition
   His incorporation of behavioral economics into legal discourse warns against overconfidence in rational actors and simple models.

4. Minimalism as discipline
   His approach to judicial minimalism suggests restraint and incrementalism may often be preferable to sweeping legal revolutions.

5. Complex challenges demand cross-disciplinary insight
   His work spans law, economics, psychology, public policy—not limiting himself to one silo.

Conclusion

Cass Sunstein is a towering figure in modern legal scholarship and public policy. His impact is twofold: academically, through his prolific writings and influence on constitutional and regulatory theory; and practically, through his time in government and his promotion of behavioral insights in the craft of policy. His work challenges us to think deeply about how institutions shape choices, how law can reflect human fallibility, and how ideas bridge theory and governance.