Do you think it would be better if everything in this world was free?

Question

Do you think it would be better or worse if everything in this world was free? What's your opinion?

Answer 1

No. This is where Karl Marx was dead wrong in his theories. If everything were free, that means the people who made it would be paid nothing. If you are paid nothing, why work? If no one works, nothing is made. If nothing is made, there is nothing to get for free.

His idea was from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. But if you only get what you "need" you get nothng that you just "want", and what you get for what you need would be someone else's idea of what you need, which is probably nothing close to your idea of what you need.

So, in a nutshell, this is why the whole concept of Marxism fell apart. It might sound like a great idea at first, but when you look at it real close you see it goes against human nature.

People who say they like the idea of "free" health care fail to realize that somebody has to pay for it somehow. There is no such thing as 'free', there is always a cost. All those doctors and nurses are not going to work for free, the medicine is not going to be free, the building of hospitals is not free, so health care can never be free. It has to be paid for somehow, and the cost is very real.

If you want to pay 60%, 70% or 80% of your income in taxes, then maybe you can get a few things for "free", if you consider paying indirectly for something through taxes "free".

Answer 2

It's an interesting question but an impossible reality. So the answer is worse. Scarcity would throw a wrench in the works. If there was no money things would be rationed another way. Let's say you made everything free tomorrow, I would go get a Porsche. Since gasoline is free I would drive 150mph and fill up all day long... well when you went to the free Porsche store there wouldn't be any and they would be scarce already. The gasoline would probably be gone since I would have had my friend go get a load of free containers and fill them up with all the gas and bring it to my garage. So now I have a Porsche and gas and I'm going to the beach. You need a ride... well why would I give you one? Well because you hoarded food and you'll trade me a burger for a ride. So we are on the barter system. I will have to staff and amass an army to protect my gasoline as you will to protect your burgers eventually we'll run out of things to barter and then what? Greed will fuel wars an fifedoms and we'll be back in the middle ages suffering from plague since no one will have antibiotics except people like me and you who can trade for them.

I'd rather carry around a credit card or cash than a pocket full of chickens and shiny rocks. So your idea of free really means no money which is not going to make equality but set everyone back and lead to horrendous conditions for the poor and luxury for the wealthy. Yes exactly what we have now but with money the scarcity is less pronounced and there are more people in between the dirt poor and ultrawealthy who would be harmed.

Answer 3

It would be better if everything was free and everyone had to participate in the creation of free things as a job. Then there would be no need for greed, crimes of greed, materialistic jealousy and no hunger. I could be a gas station tenant and I could make as much as a doctor. Then there would be no reason to not like what you do for a living. If there's NO pay rates then just work where you are most happy. Oh what a dream!

Taking the above guys comment into consideration we could just kill all the lazy people or send them to a island or something:)

Answer 4

I don't think that medical should cost anyone. I mean, I would gladly save a life for free. Jesus Christ never charged anyone to get healed. I mean, maybe the basics should be free. Food, Water, Shelter, Clothes, Medical, Education. But everything els should still cost. I wouldn't support the government giving out free ciggeretts for example.

Answer 5

If everything was free then people would have no reason to work because they don't need money to buy things. If no one worked then no final products i.e. cars would be built and we wouldn't have anything. Now it's a lot deeper and complex then that but this is the short version.

Answer 6

everything has a price. you may be able to make it "free" in terms of money but it still has a price what we call an opportunity cost.
the circular logic here is easy. I work flipping burgers at McDs. If it cost me nothing to get a hamburger; then I don't need money; why don't I go to the beach instead of working; but if I go to the beach then no one is flipping the burgers at McDs; then no burgers are being made; but then I can't have a burger since none were made; which means I gotta go home and flip my own burgers; but then I can't go to the beach cause I am to busy flipping burgers for myself.
That is crude but you get the picture.

Answer 7

No. Where is the incentive to do anything?
People are lazy enough now, how do you think life would be if everything were free.
Talk about a bunch of overweight, TV watching slobs! it would be worse then than it is now.

Answer 8

I think it would be a better world if we were like some of these small islands; where you work to better yourself, not for money. You work from sun-up to sun-down, and if you need something you don't have, you trade with someone else for it. You work as a community, and all problems are solved as a community, not by a leader!

Answer 9

Hahahahaha. Then why would anybody bother to go to work if everything is free? And if nobody is going to work, how are all the products and services going to exist?

Answer 10

Much worse. Having to pay for things brings balance, and without balance we would fall apart.