Philosophy Friday: There Is Always A Price To Pay

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

A country’s government provides valuable services to its citizens: Roads, hospitals, sanitation, the rule of law, pensions, unemployment benefits and many more. We pay for these with our taxes – whether we are rich or poor. It’s what responsible citizens do. Paying our taxes ought to be a point of pride. We’re performing our small but essential part towards a well-functioning society.

Yet, so often, we complain about how much the taxman is taking from us. Especially when we see how all governments, some worse than others, seem to squander our hard-earned money on useless projects. Government politicians have a different view on how to spend the tax take. And there will always be inefficiencies and mistakes. They are only human.

There is no point worrying and complaining about our taxes —yet so many of us do. After all, death and taxes are the two inevitabilities of life.

However, there are other taxes we must pay in our lives: Someone steals from us—this is the cost for being well-off and having nice things. We get stood up for a meeting—this is a tax for interacting with imperfect human beings. An assistant didn’t do what we asked them to—this is a cost of delegation.

These are all examples of life taxes we must pay every day.

We can and do get upset about these taxes too. But it’s worth remembering that everything has a price. It’s simply how our imperfect world works.

Just as we accept the collection of our government taxes, we will be better off if we willingly pay our life taxes. After all, everything has a price.

“And it is better for your slave-boy to be bad than for you to be unhappy. Begin, therefore, with the little things. Your paltry oil gets spilled, your miserable wine stolen; say to yourself, “This is the price paid for a calm spirit, this the price for peace of mind.” Nothing is got without a price. And when you call your slave-boy, bear in mind that it is possible he may not heed you, and again, that even if he does heed, he may not do what you want done. But he is not in so happy a condition that your peace of mind depends upon him.”

– Epictetus, Stoic Philosopher