I'll play devils advocate here, and say that this isn't true, because the basic idea of following the law is to follow something that a group decided on. We write a law that says you cannot steal. I find that those people who follow that law to be very respectable. And being a rebel by stealing doesn't make you magically respectful.

So to me, if people follow the same set of laws, this is a good thing. This means I shouldn't need to worry about fraud, or about theft, etc. If people do not follow agreed upon laws, then how is that respectful? Would you respect a business that didn't honor contracts?

Maybe this is just one of too vague, but I do respect people who do follow the law and do not harm me, steal from me, etc.

On the flip side, if those laws didn't exist, I would respect a thief who had the skills to steal property for me. I would hire that person all the time. Or someone who was really good at making me money by frauding customers that don't know it relates to me (say through a shell company).