T.A.N.S.T.A.A.F.L. (There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch) was coined by Robert Heinlein in his 1966 novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. The phrase passed from fiction to fandom to physics to economics and even Libertarians. The concepts origin goes back to the 30’s and 40’s when bars would advertise a “Free Lunch” but you had to by drinks, and the lunch was added to the drinks. Heinlein’s lunar colonists used to describe a concept as essential to economics as it is to physics. Nothing in the universe is free. There are costs in everything, and more often than not, they are hidden. It comes about as close to describing the Libertarian idea of a man’s relation to government as it is possible to get. T.A.N.S.T.A.A.F.L. reveals that any government benefit comes only at a cost of freedom. Balancing the two, even in the ideal government, is difficult on a short term and impossible in the long term.
That is something that we all should think about in these times, even if like me you are not a Libertarian. What do we get from anything, be it a pet, a shiny new car, a functioning economy, or a shiny new government benefit? What will it cost us, in the short term and long term? Does the cost outweigh the benefits?
T.A.N.S.T.A.A.F.L., the concept, is something we should all think about as we read through the news. Every one of history’s acts is the product of T.A.N.S.T.A.A.F.L. Somebody, probably you and me, are paying for it. We will not know the cost until long after the last bill comes due. But just because something is expensive and loaded with hidden costs, to our wallet or even some freedom, doesn’t me we should not buy it. It just means we should be aware of what we are buying.
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