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Add to FavoritesTo argue that nothing is free and that all things must have a catch is a preposterous over generalization. Obviously it is untrue. The air we breathe is free, rain and sunshine are free and so are our internal organs. But I shall concentrate on those things which are free that are not given to everyone.
For a start there are free samples often sent out in the mail. These have no catch, and while their purpose is to advertise the product, you are not obligated to buy the product just because you were sent a free sample. Then there are free samples at other places, such as shops, to advertise products. While this advertisement may be seen as an alterior motive and a catch, it is the former but not the latter, as you are not again obligated to purchase the product in question.
Recently a free inner city bus service has begun operating where I live. There appears to be no catch, and whilst I myself have not ridden it as I walk to the places I go to, it would seem this is another perfect example of something free that does not come with a catch, unless you are suggesting that by riding the bus we might become addicted to bus riding and then want to spend all our money on riding various bus networks all day long.
There are many more examples of things that are free without a catch, and while many of them do have alterior motives or what could be deemed a catch to them, they are not obligatory catches. Obligatory catches would include something as part of a contract, which is glossed over in advertising. But not all supposedly free things are attached to catches, and it is only in commercial areas that this is so.
Let us not forget that there are many things that are free that have no catch that are not worth money at shops. As I said earlier, pretty much everything is free except what money can buy. A walk through the park is free enough, one would think. And I daresay I shall not be considered insane when I suggest that a bike ride or a game of cricket is an overly capitalist pastime.
As such it is preposterous to argue that all free things must have a catch. However when considering the mass of things which do have catches, it is not terribly difficult to see why one might come up with such an argument. After all pretty much everything free does have a catch, but it is by no means an absolute rule.
Whether this is a good or bad thing it shall remain so for as long as capitalism is the system used to run society, and as it is by far the best system in our present context, I do not see an end in sight to its use. Supposedly free things will always have catches, but there will still be some that do not, and as long as we read every contract we sign carefully the ones with catches should not pose a problem.
Learn more about this author, Mark Waybill.
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Catches
There are catches to just about everything. There is no such thing as a free lunch as one famous person put it. But sometimes you won't necessarily see, or even are aware of the catch that is present. And sadly, it's usually after all is said and done that the catch rears its ugly head and comes back to haunt you.
One obvious one is you must spend money to make money. This one holds true even if you don't own a business. In order for one to make money they have to keep businesses that they shop at alive so that people stay employed, and sometimes this even affects other businesses as well. If one business closes that's one business that another few businesses can't be suppliers too. If business folds up in any given area, that's one more, place that no one can work. That's the catch of business. In order for to keep businesses in the area someone had to give them money by shopping there.
Online sites often offer free things, but with a catch. A lot of these places will say, you can make X amount of money in this amount of time, but first you have to (insert catch here). Usually that catch is something that goes along the lines you must pay this amount of money to get this deal or refer this amount of people and you get this and usually both you and the however many other people will end up spending money to get whatever the prize is. That's the catch.
Even in the natural world there's nothing that's seemingly free that doesn't cost us in some way shape or form. The making of gas costs and other products costs us oil. The making of these products hurt the environment in the long run. Deforestation brings costs to animal's habitat, namely them losing their place to live. It costs us by taking away natural beauty for us to enjoy. Driving cars, though a necessity, cause more pollutants to enter the atmosphere, which in turn rises the levels of gases in the atmosphere that cause global warming. That's the catch of us living comfortably.
Everything in this world you may not have had to necessarily pay monetarily for, but you still pay for it. Even if you didn't personally pay for it, someone did in some way shape or form. Someone always pays.
Learn more about this author, Jeffrey Wright.
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