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→‎Charity: no transaction costs
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A force perhaps even stronger than the “invisible hand” is charity.  The desire to give something of benefit to others, without demanding as much in return, is enormous.  “Give and ye shall receive” is an economic lesson from the Bible.  Look around, and you will notice numerous important charitable acts by others and yourself.
 
A force perhaps even stronger than the “invisible hand” is charity.  The desire to give something of benefit to others, without demanding as much in return, is enormous.  “Give and ye shall receive” is an economic lesson from the Bible.  Look around, and you will notice numerous important charitable acts by others and yourself.
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An immense advantage of charity is that it has no transaction costs.  One person simply gives money, or goods, or services, to someone else (or to a church), and the recipient of the donation then uses it in the best way possible.  A person giving $10 in a collection basket at church does not fill out any paperwork or require any commitments on how the church uses the donation.  It is assumed that the church will use the money as best it can, perhaps even in an unexpected way during the following year.  Pure charity is often purely efficient, with little waste in terms of transaction costs.
    
America’s health care system, by far the greatest in the world, was built on a foundation of charity.  People and religious organizations giving time, money and expertise to care for individuals who could never afford to pay all the costs.  Education, too, was developed in this country largely through charity.  In recent years, both health care and education have lost their charitable identities, and the results are not encouraging.  Both are weakening.
 
America’s health care system, by far the greatest in the world, was built on a foundation of charity.  People and religious organizations giving time, money and expertise to care for individuals who could never afford to pay all the costs.  Education, too, was developed in this country largely through charity.  In recent years, both health care and education have lost their charitable identities, and the results are not encouraging.  Both are weakening.
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