From: QueeneMUSE@aol.com
Date: Mon Nov 25 1996 - 19:01:12 MST
Reply To Paul Wafker
MuseQueen
>Now this doesnt mean that you should freeload or we need to abandon the
>notion that trading and exchange should and can be beneficial to both
>parties, but the negativity behind these little sayings can be
subconsciously
>daunting.
PAUL:
>I think that you have missed the whole point of TANSTAAFL.
Q:
..if you read the first lines above...I dint miss it, I
sideswiped it ; - )
I think "sayings" like this, used in interpersonal
relationships, even if meaningful in the beginning,
soon become overshadowed by the nearsightedness of
*this useful business equation*. In PRINCIPLE, this homily
is useful, in PRACTISE ( IMHO) it leaves out a lot of
wonderful scenarios, including feelings, not paid for
or bought.
>Its purpose (an
excellent one to my mind) is to remind us all that, one way or another, we DO
always earn and pay for everything we get. In the above example you have
prepaid (or earned) your "free" lunches and dinners by educating and refining
>the quality and appeal of the person you are.
Maybe so, in YOUR eyes, But I would be highly insulted
if you offered me the money for dinner instead of free
food, and the "exchange" (if any) sure ain't the cost of the
food, ( I can buy my own, thank U) it's your company!
So therefore I agree with the next :
>In addition, there is involved
here different kinds of value, some monetary and some non-monetary
(spiritual?). So there is really no question of needing to abandon the ideas
of
trade to mutual advantage even in this context. A wider question which I
would
like to see discussed in a thread (maybe is has been before, I am new to the
list) would be whether all of a person's values are even commensurable (and
therefore can be evaluated in terms of money).
>
Is it ever useful to equate all of our dealings, no matter
how delicate , with the business venture? It is certainly
SAFE, and comfortable, and capitalism is a very rewarding game, one I admire
and aspire to. But I leave the
boardroom out of the bedroom and out of my close
friendships.
And, I think a lot of people use sayings like this
incorrectly to excuse bad behavior or fear of letting
other people in to their hearts.
Furthermore, all "truisms" lose meaning out of or in certain context.
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