There is no free lunch in the world. Metaphor means you have to work hard to do everything, don't think about getting something for nothing.

The synonymous sentence is: There will be no pie in the sky. There are mainly the following viewpoints

(1) This sentence is a western proverb. Considering the living habits in the Middle Ages, breakfast and dinner are simple to eat, and only Chinese food is their main meal, so the proverb also uses lunch as a metaphor.

"There is no such thing as a free lunch"-an issue involving Economic good and non－economic good. As long as the goods are in demand and scarce, they are economic goods with prices.

(2) from a story.

once upon a time, there was a king who loved his people like a son. Under his wise leadership, the people had plenty of food and clothing and lived and worked in peace and contentment. The far-sighted king was worried that the people would live a happy life after his death, so he recruited people of insight in China. Order them to find an eternal law that can ensure the happiness of people's lives.

three months later, this class of scholars presented three six-inch thick silk books to the king and said, Your Majesty, all the knowledge in the world is gathered in these three books. As long as people finish reading it, they can ensure that their lives are worry-free. The king didn't think so, because he thought people wouldn't spend so much time reading books. So he ordered this class of scholars to continue to study, and within two months, the scholars simplified three books into one. The king was still not satisfied. A month later, the scholars presented a piece of paper to the king. After reading it, the king said with great satisfaction: Very well, as long as my people really practice this precious wisdom in the future, I believe they will live a rich and happy life. With that, he gave this class of scholars a heavy reward.

it turns out that there is only one sentence written on this paper: there is no such thing as a free lunch.

(3) This sentence is written by political scholar Duran. In a paper published in 1971, he put forward two principles. One is that "there is no free lunch principle in the world"; The second is that "there is no impeccable influence principle in the world". This sentence is written by political scholar Duran. In a paper published in 1971, he put forward two principles. One is that "there is no free lunch principle in the world"; The second is that "there is no impeccable influence principle in the world".

after reading the belgrave dictionary of economics, I can see that there is a "free lunch". After reading it carefully, I can't help but realize that the article about "free lunch" written by the author earlier has the disadvantages of "endless details". In fact, the constant discovery of new materials or enlightening new ideas is the pleasure of reading.

In Hong Kong, "free lunch" is a household word. The author can be said to be the first media person to introduce this word to Hong Kong. Like ordinary people and even people in ivory towers, the author always thought that this wise saying was "cast" by Friedman, a master of monetary school. In mid-June, 1997, when Friedman went to Israel to receive the honorary doctorate of hebrew university of jerusalem, he had a good talk with Lunian Si, chairman of the Finance and Economics Committee of the Knesset. Lu Niansi said that Judaism can be summarized in eight words: "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you", and the rest are secondary. He asked Friedman to summarize the essence of his economics in a simple sentence, and Friedman blurted out: "There is no free lunch in the world-it is the whole of my economic theory, and the rest is just a side issue!" Friedman's works are profound and knowledgeable, but he summed up his theory with these simple words, which shows the deep meaning of this sentence.

In fact, before this, "free lunch" was Friedman's "signature goods". His essay collection "An Economist's Protest" published in 1972 was renamed "There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch" when it was reprinted in 1975. All of the above leads me to the conclusion that this sentence was "invented" by Friedman.

However, a recent reading of Economic Statecraft by David Boyun, a professor of political science at Columbia University (published by Princeton University Press) reveals that this sentence was originally written by political scholar Duran. In a paper published in 1971, he put forward two principles. One is that "there is no free lunch principle in the world"; The second is that "there is no impeccable influence principle in the world".

at this point, we should know that "free lunch" was not created by Friedman. However, Friedman was famous, and Duran had to give way. And in fact, Friedman contributed a lot to the popularization of this "principle".

As we all know, any goods and services below the market price in society are subsidized by the government with taxpayers' money-the "ordinary people" who enjoy the "free lunch" have also made contributions because of indirect taxes-and because the administrative cost of distributing the "free lunch" is particularly high, the "free lunch" is actually very expensive!

However, according to the textual research of the author who wrote the entry "free lunch" for Belgrave, the word "free lunch" first appeared in the 19th century. At that time, in order to attract customers, bars and inns posted advertisements outside their doors, aiming at "offering free sandwiches and snacks". But if customers only eat sandwiches and don't "get drunk", they will soon find that they can't understand this advertisement literally. People who only ask for sandwiches without buying drinks are "thrown out" without exception. Obviously, "no free sandwich" is the "predecessor" of "no free lunch".

The formal use of the word "free lunch" began in 1933 during the "New Deal" in the United States and was created by conservative politicians and critics. For example, the famous critic Mencken and the famous economic critic Henry Harriet, who wrote Introduction to Economics, used "free lunch" to describe social welfare undertakings many times in their works to show that welfare is actually very expensive. As we all know, the government itself cannot create wealth, and government expenses must be obtained by tax collection. In other words, the sources of funds for the government to implement welfare policies are all donated by taxpayers, and the implementation of welfare policies has formed a huge government structure, which is the fundamental reason for the high cost of free welfare.

During the Vietnam War, people who advocated compulsory conscription thought that school-age students were obliged to apply, which was the reward for their free education. "There is no free lunch in the world" is the reality that students who receive free education and think that education is really free should accept.

After the Vietnam War, the word "free lunch" gradually fell into disrepute. In the early 197s, it was popular to print a fashionable slogan on T-shirts, and the phrase "free lunch" gradually attracted the attention of businessmen. However, if Friedman had not repeatedly analyzed in the column of Newsweek that there is no such thing as a "free lunch", it would not have been so popular.