Sacrifice: Just Another Relationship Myth
Some guy (a very wise guy, indeed) once said that all relationships require sacrifice. To get something out of a relationship you must also give to it. What we've established already is that there is a trade going on. You hear that, econ nerds? Trade! Come and get it!
I'm hoping to explore the many aspects of basic relationships through economics. I find it amazing how most people don't even find economics applicable to anything other than the market. What I intend to show with this is that the market covers everything. Even love (the Beatles were wrong. Money CAN buy you love. So can Scottish Terriers). Let's start off with something much more simple, though.
Why Your Friends Kick Ass (Most of the Time)
Most relationships are give and take, right? There's a certain trade to it all. To get a feeling of satisfaction you must give up something. For me, I have to give up a few jokes, plenty of thinking time, and many opportunities to play games. What I normally get out of that is the laughter of friends, debate with colleagues, and multi-player happiness. Sure, being a friend means picking up the tab sometimes, but most of the time the whole system is barter.
Some trades are really quite interesting. I love to say sweet things to my girlfriend over the phone. She loves to hear sweet things being said to her. I like hearing her giggle when she hears sweet things. She likes to giggle. How many transactions were in that 10 seconds of conversation? God only knows. What I do know, though, is that benefit after benefit was tacked onto each contribution to the conversation. Only slight amounts of cost slipped in. About 15 seconds later both Danielle and I are giddy with each other.
Such trades can work both ways, though. My mother asks me a question I've already answered five or six times in the past hour. I answer with a hint of annoyance in my voice because, honestly, I'm annoyed. She takes offense at my annoyance and scolds me for it. This results in an all out Spanglish brawl. I very well know that my mother was only trying to keep me clean and safe. I got annoyed, though, and the cost of the whole ordeal began to exceed the benefit.
Here's where it all comes together. You have friends (At least, I hope you do. If you do, keep reading. If you don't, wait until the next essay where I'll teach you to get some) and you should interact with them. Not necessarily all the time, but a lot of the time. Most of the time, your friends are all friends with one another. Basically, you have a "circle of friends." Let's take this forum as an example.
Back when I was playing TWG, I won almost every game Tass did. I learned to ride on his coattails to victory. In short, I exploited his skill. At the very same time he used me. Of course, we both knew what was going on and allowed it to happen. We traded. I posed for him and he carried me on. Both sides are happy. Good trade. This is the kind of interaction that happens all the time. Let's say I'm talking to Alain and we have a great conversation. Positively hilarious. This is a transaction where we both spend jokes on each other in hopes they'll joke back. Either we enjoy making them happy or we want the same treatment back. In any case, we complete the trade and are either satisfied or not (if they don't tell jokes back then we're obviously unsatisfied). A lot of the time this occurs on a larger scale. All of your friends are doing this to each other whenever they're together (either that or they're all bored together). Because all the trades are break-even or better, you all remain friends.
Sometimes friends break up, though. Let's say a friend of yours changes a bit. Now he's very different and doesn't trade like he did before. Maybe he's much more needy and demands more but doesn't put out nearly as much (heheh...put out. Oops, that was the male side of me. Sorry). He's labeled as "high maintenance" and pretty much shut out of the group. Maybe he thinks the others are demanding more than he can supply. He may go find other friends. These fallings out are the parts of friendship I find to be particularly interesting.
Some guy (a very wise guy, indeed) once said that all relationships require sacrifice. To get something out of a relationship you must also give to it. What we've established already is that there is a trade going on. You hear that, econ nerds? Trade! Come and get it!
I'm hoping to explore the many aspects of basic relationships through economics. I find it amazing how most people don't even find economics applicable to anything other than the market. What I intend to show with this is that the market covers everything. Even love (the Beatles were wrong. Money CAN buy you love. So can Scottish Terriers). Let's start off with something much more simple, though.
Why Your Friends Kick Ass (Most of the Time)
Most relationships are give and take, right? There's a certain trade to it all. To get a feeling of satisfaction you must give up something. For me, I have to give up a few jokes, plenty of thinking time, and many opportunities to play games. What I normally get out of that is the laughter of friends, debate with colleagues, and multi-player happiness. Sure, being a friend means picking up the tab sometimes, but most of the time the whole system is barter.
Some trades are really quite interesting. I love to say sweet things to my girlfriend over the phone. She loves to hear sweet things being said to her. I like hearing her giggle when she hears sweet things. She likes to giggle. How many transactions were in that 10 seconds of conversation? God only knows. What I do know, though, is that benefit after benefit was tacked onto each contribution to the conversation. Only slight amounts of cost slipped in. About 15 seconds later both Danielle and I are giddy with each other.
Such trades can work both ways, though. My mother asks me a question I've already answered five or six times in the past hour. I answer with a hint of annoyance in my voice because, honestly, I'm annoyed. She takes offense at my annoyance and scolds me for it. This results in an all out Spanglish brawl. I very well know that my mother was only trying to keep me clean and safe. I got annoyed, though, and the cost of the whole ordeal began to exceed the benefit.
Here's where it all comes together. You have friends (At least, I hope you do. If you do, keep reading. If you don't, wait until the next essay where I'll teach you to get some) and you should interact with them. Not necessarily all the time, but a lot of the time. Most of the time, your friends are all friends with one another. Basically, you have a "circle of friends." Let's take this forum as an example.
Back when I was playing TWG, I won almost every game Tass did. I learned to ride on his coattails to victory. In short, I exploited his skill. At the very same time he used me. Of course, we both knew what was going on and allowed it to happen. We traded. I posed for him and he carried me on. Both sides are happy. Good trade. This is the kind of interaction that happens all the time. Let's say I'm talking to Alain and we have a great conversation. Positively hilarious. This is a transaction where we both spend jokes on each other in hopes they'll joke back. Either we enjoy making them happy or we want the same treatment back. In any case, we complete the trade and are either satisfied or not (if they don't tell jokes back then we're obviously unsatisfied). A lot of the time this occurs on a larger scale. All of your friends are doing this to each other whenever they're together (either that or they're all bored together). Because all the trades are break-even or better, you all remain friends.
Sometimes friends break up, though. Let's say a friend of yours changes a bit. Now he's very different and doesn't trade like he did before. Maybe he's much more needy and demands more but doesn't put out nearly as much (heheh...put out. Oops, that was the male side of me. Sorry). He's labeled as "high maintenance" and pretty much shut out of the group. Maybe he thinks the others are demanding more than he can supply. He may go find other friends. These fallings out are the parts of friendship I find to be particularly interesting.
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