An Access Advertising EconBrief:
The Economic Concept of the ‘Free Lunch’
“Give me liberty or give me death!” “54-40 or fight!” “What do you want – good grammar or good taste?” “Where’s the beef?” “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
Aphorisms, slogans and catch-phrases decorate the American idiom like Christmas-tree ornaments. They punctuate our points, intensify our insults, amplify our arguments and rationalize our rituals. They often start life as political or advertising jingles, only to outlive their original inspiration to become part of the language.
Economics has left its mark on our idiomatic heritage. Its most famous contribution has been: “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Although both the phrase and the concept date back to the 19th century, the line didn’t hit its stride until the 1940s, when a few economists revived it. Just as these origins would lead you to expect, the slogan contains…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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