Like most people, when it comes to purchasing commodities and services, I have generally oscillated between two main phases with an in-between.
There are times when I’ve had the money to pay for things. When this is the case, I simply pay for them. At other times, I didn’t have enough, so I bargained for them. There were also times when I couldn’t pay regardless of the price thus didn’t ask how much something cost. I simply couldn’t buy even if the price was halved or reduced by 90%.
These phases of consumption have taught me something about money and the ability to pay, and I find that it applies to many, if not all people. Here on Substack, for example, we writers think and talk a lot about who would pay for our content. “Do I paywall everything, do I paywall some, do I offer all of it for free?” we wonder.
However, another question is even more important: when do we ever pay for anything, and why do we?
When I can, I pay for two main reasons. First, I want to appreciate the commodity on offer; I want to appreciate the one who has taken the time to create it. If something is good and more of it would be good for people, the best thing to do is encourage its production, and the best way to do so is to give it money.
You don’t vote for your candidate because he’s perfect. He isn’t, and his policies do have their flaws and will even inflict costs. You vote for him because you believe he’s the better option and that his policies need encouragement. If and when he disappoints, you repeat the process with another one, and you keep doing it in a process that leads to an overall improvement in political offerings and policies.
This is the policy when paying, too, on Substack or anywhere else.
There’s another reason why I pay when I can, and this has everything to do with me. In paying, I appreciate that I am in a position to; I see it as honoring the work that I’ve done to be in this position, mostly in terms of being able to earn resources. I thank myself for this, and I let this process of (self) appreciation overflow to this beautiful commodity or service that another person has produced.
This, then, is the point: people who can pay generally will pay, and they will not care that the same commodity or service is offered to another for free. They see paying as an appreciation of their own labor, the one that has caused them to be in this position where they can pay.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Everyday Living to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.