Title: Opinion | Are the Best Things in Life Free? - The New York Times
Headings: Are the Best Things in Life Free?
Opinion
Turning Points
Are the Best Things in Life Free?
Richard Hell
Yanis Varoufakis
Karl Lagerfeld
Mikhail Prokhorov
Youssou N’Dour
Andreja Pejic
Yao Chen

Content: The best things in life are free, because human interaction is the basis of happiness — the feeling that you, in union with other humans, are taking part in actions that benefit the world and humanity in one way or another. Image
Andreja Pejic
Credit...
Justin Poland/The Society Management
In our society, social relations between human beings are subdued to economic relations between goods and services. This leads to people being alienated from what they produce and also from each other. The ideological nature placed on merchandise suggests that the more of it we acquire, the happier we will be. But anyone who has experienced the limited and short-lived gratification of purchasing a coveted item knows that this is simply not the case. In fact, the more things we have, the less we are able to even feel that instant satisfaction. Only when the best things life are fulfilled can we focus on the second best — the products, knowledge and experiences that provide ease, beauty, creativity and enlightenment. Sadly, such things are very expensive and enjoyed only by a minority, which generally expects the second best things to make up for the lack of the first. Andreja Pejic is an Australian model, and the first openly transgender woman to become the face of a major makeup brand. Yao Chen
The best things in life really are free.