<p>The concept of a free lunch is a philosophical/political phrase (not an axiom or law in economics). <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_ain%27t_no_such_thing_as_a_free_lunch" rel="nofollow noreferrer">It was popularized by Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friendman</a></p>

<p>The concept depends too largely on how you define <em>free</em> to make a general statement about the concept. For example, while Oxygen is readily available for your consumption from the atmosphere at a <em>cost</em> of zero, Friedman argued there was always an opportunity cost involved (you could be breathing ultra-pure oxygen from an oxygen tank to avoid pollutants in the atmosphere that will give you cancer) so technically there is a cost.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-23T17:25:56.263Z
Good point quoting the Friedman argument. I was thinking about opportunity cost but for some dumb reason, did not come up with an example that convinced myself.
Hans
CC BY-SA 4.0
2017-05-23T08:27:23.763Z
2018-08-23T18:10:00.647Z
2018-08-23T18:10:00.647Z
MOwens
<p>Is there a free lunch or something beneficial but with zero price? Is air in an unpolluted area free lunch? If so, the sentence "there is always a tradeoff between benefit and cost" is not in general true. Is this correct?</p>

<price>
The existence of free lunch
Hans
# The existence of free lunch

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-05-23)

Is there a free lunch or something beneficial but with zero price? Is air in an unpolluted area free lunch? If so, the sentence "there is always a tradeoff between benefit and cost" is not in general true. Is this correct?

**Tags:** price

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-05-23. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

The concept of a free lunch is a philosophical/political phrase (not an axiom or law in economics). [It was popularized by Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friendman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_ain%27t_no_such_thing_as_a_free_lunch)

The concept depends too largely on how you define *free* to make a general statement about the concept. For example, while Oxygen is readily available for your consumption from the atmosphere at a *cost* of zero, Friedman argued there was always an opportunity cost involved (you could be breathing ultra-pure oxygen from an oxygen tank to avoid pollutants in the atmosphere that will give you cancer) so technically there is a cost.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Good point quoting the Friedman argument. I was thinking about opportunity cost but for some dumb reason, did not come up with an example that convinced myself.  

---

